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Jul-Sep2002-10(3)
INSPIRING
LIVES
Is there any doctor who
starves?
Vithal
Prabhu
How do you differentiate between the ethical
and the unethical?
This is a simple question. I have a thumb rule:
whatever you tell people proudly is ethical; whatever you want to hide is
unethical.
What does it mean to be a doctor?
Dr Mishra of Apollo Hospital said this, which
I quite liked. You take a piece of paper and write down, on one side, what
society has done for you. Then turn the page and write on the other side what
you have done for society. You will find, invariably, that your contribution
falls short. We receive more from society than what we will ever give in this
life. You can't always be thinking of recovering investments, especially in
terms of education. The patients on whom we learnt and trained - in a way,
we are more indebted to them than they are to us. Somebody else does the
research, somebody else does the marketing and we hand it over to the patient.
It's a postman's job. So we need to be essentially humble.
From where do you draw the inner strength for
practising ethically?
Our teachers deserve credit for imbuing us with
good values. I passed out from KEM Hospital in 1955. I had registered for an MD
in Medicine. But I had to decide then whether I was for the classes or for the
masses. In those days there were fewer consultants and more practitioners. As a
practitioner, one had direct contact with the community.
What were the high points in your career?
I realised that besides treatment, communicating
preventive messages was of importance. While the focus on preventive medicine is
lacking in the current curriculum, it is the most important part of
practice.
The best way to communicate was to write (beyond
writing prescriptions), because that way you can reach out to more people than
you can come in contact with. I have written 18 books so far. I took to writing
after turning 50. We also translated Where there is no doctor by David Werner
into Marathi.
Would you like to describe situations in which you
felt challenged, whose resolution affected the way you practice? My practice of
sexology started after I read about a girl committing suicide on her wedding
night. It was a shock to me. She was ignorant about the act. I decided that
there was too much ignorance about marriage. The reasons for divorce usually
have to do with selection of the wrong partner, and with wrong norms. Further,
just explaining anatomy is never enough. In India, marriage is holy, motherhood
is holy but the act bridging the two is taboo. We have all been conditioned that
way, including doctors, who are embarrassed to talk about it.
Similarly, I heard of a death of a child by tetanus
in 1970. I decided to do my bit to prevent preventable deaths and morbidity. I
have immunised 75,000 children so far, free of cost. It gives me satisfaction.
One may have money but also sleepless nights. I probably have less money but
sleep blissfully. While I had no expectation of returns, the majority of my
practice was paediatric practice thereafter. Overcoming the usual resistance to
new ideas, I started under-five clinics.
What gives you satisfaction in today's world?
The role of friend, philosopher and guide that I
have enjoyed in 42 years of practice can never be translated in terms of money.
I understand people's need to earn money and have a good quality of life. But
then black marketers and bootleggers will make more money than we ever can. If
you were to win a lottery and never have to work again, you would be most
miserable. We have accepted this profession with certain principles and we
should be true to them. Learning is another great source of satisfaction. When I
visit patients in the hospital, I learn. So why should they pay me? I should pay
them. Doctors don't spend enough money on books; books have no resale value and
do not fetch immediate dividends.
How do you cope when others get ahead because
of unfair practices?
Is there any doctor who starves? There is no end to
how much you want. If you are unethical, you will look back on your life and
find that you have earned money and very little else. Medicine, education and
the judiciary are the three pillars of society. If these are corrupt, society is
ruined. Every individual is a small cog in the big wheel of the nation. You
cheat someone in your profession; you will find that someone else cheats you. It
is a vicious circle. It is very easy to go from good to bad, but the return trip
is very difficult. My teacher, Dr Baliga, would say: "Run after money, and
money runs away from you. If you run away from money, money will run after you."
Our profession is such that people are indebted to us. They come to us when they
are in trouble. If we don't do our job well, they lose faith in us, and that is
what is ailing this generation.
What would you advise young entrants to
practice?
Honesty finally wins. If a patient realises that a
doctor is not honest, he knows there is no way he will treat the patient's body
with honesty. If he is corrupt how can he ever be trusted with anyone's life?
Ethics is continuously evolving. While I would not like to say what others
should do, I call on each person to determine it. Every generation is on the
shoulders of the earlier generation. Every generation has a responsibility to do
something worthwhile, to pass on the benefits to the next.
(As told to Nobhojit
Roy)
Dr Vithal Prabhu,
2-C, Shiv Sagar, Pandurang Naik Road, Shivaji Park, Mumbai, 400016 E-mail:
vithal_prabhu@hotmail.com