Saturday, March 25, 2006

ഇഷ്ടവൈദ്യന്‍

രോഗം അഗ്നിപരീക്ഷയാണ്‌ രോഗത്തെ കീഴ്പ്പെടുത്തല്‍ മൃത്യുഞ്ജയവും.

രോഗങ്ങള്‍ മൂര്‍ദ്ധന്യാവസ്ഥയിലും അജ്ഞതയും അതുളവാക്കുന്ന നൈരാശ്യവും പരമകോടിയിലുമായിരിക്കുന്നയവസ്ഥയിലാണ്‌ ഞാന്‍ ഡോ. അനിലിനെ കാണുന്നത്‌. അരോഗാവസ്ഥയിലേക്കുള്ള വൈഷമ്യം നിറഞ്ഞ പാതയില്‍ ഞാന്‍ വഴിച്ചൂട്ടായി പിടിച്ചത്‌ രോഗത്തേയും വൈദ്യത്തെയും കുറിച്ചുള്ള അറിവുകളുമായിരുന്നു. പരിമിതികള്‍ക്കുള്ളിലെങ്കിലും എന്റെയറിവുകള്‍ വര്‍ദ്ധിക്കുന്നതനുസരിച്ച്‌ ഞാന്‍ ഡോ. അനില്‍ എന്ന വൈദ്യനെയും കൂടുതലറിഞ്ഞു.

ഡോ. അനില്‍ കുമാറിന്‌ എന്റെയീ കൊച്ചു ആരോഗ്യ ബ്ലോഗ്ഗിലേക്ക്‌ സ്വാഗതം!! താങ്കളുടെ സാന്നിദ്ധ്യം എന്നെ കൂടുതല്‍ ഉതരവാദിത്തമുള്ള ഒരു ലേഖകനാക്കട്ടെ..

How to evaluate your doctor:
Apart from the Thridoshas, Chapter 1 of ashtamga hridaya mainly speaks of the four alterable variables of any medical treatment – the doctor, the nurse/bystander, the patient and the medicine. Next four posts are humble attempts to interpret each of these with an example each.
Chararaka states that a doctor shall have the following basic qualities:
1. Years of hands-on experience on surgical (Salya) & other (Vamanam, Vasti etc.) procedures under a venerable senior.
2. Cleanliness of body and mind
3. Skills and competence
4. Belongingness (accreditation?) to an accepted school of medical science
5. Experience as a teacher of medicine

Charaka also has made code of ethics as follows:
He shall not append knowledge from books without logical evaluation and analytical review as well as discussions (seminars?) with his counterparts.
He shall never behave rude, especially to patients who deserve respect as people who fights bravely to protect flickering flame of their lives.
He should never advertise his achievements nor solicit patients - his goodwill should act as his advertisement and patients should seek and find him.
He shall be entrepreneurial, assertive, humble enough to accept he cannot grant lives or extend them.
He can belong to any of the four castes or outside but should lead a respectable life.
He shall be assertive and sure footed.
He shall be kind, generous, master of medical science (all 8 branches & heart ) and possess good knowledge of other sciences as well as possess a great deal of knowledge of general knowledge.
His mode of education shall be to read, understand, evaluate, discuss, practice, revise, modernize and teach.
He shall be of a personality remembered fondly by teachers, classmates, patients and general public.


Did I promise an example?
Here is an exemplary cardiologist who is at top ranks according to my evaluations using Charaka’s attribute based acceptance policy.

(Photo credit : dubaiphotomedia.com)

Here is what I could gather about him through the wonder crawler google spider. Dr. Anil Kumar was the professor of Cardiology at Jawaharlal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education & Research ,Directorate General of Health Services, Pondicherry (Dept of Cardiology of JIPMER was attending upto 10,000 cases during his tenure according to published statistics) In 1996, Dr Anil received the Commonwealth Scholarship award, and then went on to become a Member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1997. On July 28, 2005 he became a fellow of the prestigious Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh UK. On July 28 2005 , Dr Anil was awarded a scroll of the Fellow of the College by President Professor Neil J Douglas, for his eight years of work work the Freeman Hospital UK and his expertise in cardiac electrophysiology. At present, he is practicing interventional cardiology at Belhoul Speciality Hospital, Dubai. IMHO, he possesses the attributes charaka prescribed ai/a.

In his presence I transformed myself from a patient to a healthy man. Under his advice I took ownership of my problems and resolved them.