“Medical humanities” for India

Abstract

Is there a problem? A 21-year-old senior medical student is standing at the bedside of a patient in a general ward. The intern has been told that it is important to pick up the patient’s hand, and look into his face, before asking any questions. He has seen his teacher do this. He moves his hand stiffly, watches it go towards the patient’s hand, and pause, and in those few seconds, realises this is not going to work. He gives up, and asks: “Tell me what the problem is.” The young men and women who enter medical colleges in India are of above average intelligence, many are exceptionally bright, and all yearn to do good. This is largely true, even though our entrance exams do not really test intelligence or aptitude, and these young people stopped looking beyond physics-chemistry-biology at the age of 13, becoming little more than marks-scoring machines. Miraculously, many of them survive these battles with their intelligence intact and clinging still to their desire to be of service. The battle scars are there -- fear lies beneath the “cool”, “don’t care” surface. There are countless doubts. Am I in the right place? Am I good enough? But isn’t this wrong? What should I do? Not addressing these questions can be dangerous: to the individual medical student whose doubts gradually vanish, leaving him numb, or worse, indifferent; to the patient who has to confront an emotionally stunted doctor; to the national healthcare scene dominated by people who learned to leave their humanity behind years ago.