Yes, medicine is a noble profession, but .

I soon learnt that many of my family members feared doctors.

By Rohan Keni

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Published: Fri 23 Aug 2019, 10:30 PM

Last updated: Sat 24 Aug 2019, 12:31 AM

Throughout the first six months of the year, my mind and body suffered blow after blow from a variety of health issues such as fungal infections in the ear, kidney stones, bronchitis, gastroenteritis, multiple eyes and ear infections, and unbearable spasms of the joints. The torrid phase of degenerating health often left me stuck in the medical realm of wellness management. On each occasion, the intolerable pain forced me to look for help from doctors and specialists. However, when looking for specialists, my parents and family members often held conversations with me about the process of carefully approaching the right doctor.

The health-related conversations and judgments often ended in conclusions that some doctors no longer practiced medicine in moral ways. I soon learnt that many of my family members feared doctors. I also realised that, besides posing the noble motives of treating and curing patients, some doctors have ulterior motives and deliberately direct patients to undergo unnecessary, time and money-consuming tests. In addition, experimental treatments are done and all this is done with the aim of seizing more money from patients. And since the people who fall sick are no experts in health, they have to rely on medical experts and are left with no choice but to instinctively follow the doctor's opinions.

My mother's experience at a hospital when she fell ill and had constant vomiting is an ideal example. During her visit to the hospital, several doctors diagnosed her with different conditions including appendicitis and jaundice and were planning to operate upon her when the actual problem was a blocked food pipe. Her experience has affected our perception about the role of doctors in society.

The medical profession is looked upon as a noble one, and doctors have been and will continue to be the guardians of our continual existence on earth, by saving and making lives better, healthier, and safer (my recovery is a testimony). However, since we are solely dependent on doctors for our well-being, my plea to all doctors is to overlook financial desires for the sake of the profession's ultimate purpose which is saving lives.

Rohan Keni, USA


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