LIFE OF AN INDIAN RESIDENT DOCTOR

How ironic is it that in the wake of our 78th Independence Day, there began a nationwide protest by doctors condemning the rape and murder of a young resident doctor on duty and were dealt with mob vandalism and moral policing? Whose independence are we celebrating exactly? And how very conveniently this issue has been singled out as a doctor's issue rather than a women's safety issue by the media and others so that the outrage is restricted within the community got me thinking. I am shocked that a lot of people out of the medical field still aren't even aware of the gruesome incident. I spoke to many of my non-medico friends and neighbours about their non-participation, and their responses were appalling, to say the least. But I don't blame them. Some of the comments on the internet and the administration circulars issued were much worse. "Isn't she a doctor on duty? Why was she taking a nap at night in the seminar room?", "Aren't they doctors? They are paid well enough to fight for themselves.",  "Doctors trying to make this issue about themselves and gain sympathy." are a few of them that made me outrageous. Okay, if this is a doctor's issue, why aren't all doctors protesting it? Why is it only the allopaths and none of the other sects? And that's when it hit me.

I am not interested in getting into the details here. All I can say is that it is mainly because of the misconception about the lives of doctors and the feeling of disconnect to their lifestyle by others. I was waiting for someone to write about the difficulties of the residency programme in India until I realised, "If not me, then who?" But before you question my authenticity, let me clarify. This post here comes from my little experience after completing my MBBS from a state government medical college, post-graduation from a highly demanding less-manned corporate hospital, Senior residency from a central government institute, and faculty at a state private medical college for a few months before turning a post-doctoral fellow in another central institute again. It's safe to say that I have been associated with all kinds of medical colleges in the last 14+ years. And trust me, it's the same scene for residents everywhere: government, private, corporate, central, or state. Outsider or insider doesn't really matter; the safety of female doctors is threatened by all or any of them - patients, their attenders, senior doctors, colleagues, and other healthcare workers.

Who are these resident doctors, and what are their roles?

Junior resident doctors are postgraduate trainees who often carry out regular 36 to 48-hour or, worse, 72-hour hospital shifts for patient care. Senior resident doctors are either super speciality trainees or post-pg doctors with more responsibilities during similar shifts but comparatively less work pressure than junior resident doctors.

The concept of residency dates way back in time when doctors primarily resided in the hospital for patient care. But over time, it has become a practice to make doctors work for long hours during their training period by the medical board, reducing the need for recruiting more workforce. The doctor-to-patient ratio in India is abysmal, which adds to the workload burden on these junior residents who handle multiple daily tasks.

The residents attend to emergency patients during duty shifts and are the first point of contact between the patient and the healthcare system. While most of you might associate your emergency care with bitter memories, you also have to remember that most of these doctors would have not slept for an entire day, must have had their last meal 12 hours ago or more or might as well be thriving on loads of coffee and junk foods to fight hunger. Most residents don't even get time to bathe and groom themselves before returning to work the next day during residency, even though they are working amidst blood, faeces, wound discharges and body fluids. There are no post-duty offs whatsoever, which means they get less than 12 hours before they return to normal work after their 36/48/72-hour shift.

Now, the resident doctors also have other things to take care of, like OPD consultations, making sure ward beds are available for new patients by making timely discharges of old and stable patients, scheduling scans or theatre timings, making sure the reports are available on time before a senior doctor arrives, making sure the patient is fit for a proposed procedure, assisting in emergency surgeries or procedures. If this is not enough, there are also academic sessions to attend without fail. On top of this, there is a thesis to make and mandatory papers and posters in some colleges to make them eligible to appear in exams. They need to be doing all this without a break and are expected to treat patients with a smile on their faces while also tolerating misogyny and misbehaviour from patients or superiors. I fear I might even have missed a few other duties that are carried out on a day-to-day basis. And then comes issues like these, where patients or their attenders or superiors misbehave or manhandle doctors, attempt to barge into duty rooms, pass lewd comments on female doctors, question their capability, threaten their modesty, ask for favours to make them clear exams or learn skills, threaten them, rape them and murder them.

Most of us don't even complain about all these during our residency because of our passion. But what is the point? Even today, none of the residents are seen complaining about the duty hours or the work schedule. All we ask for are safety regulations for residents to make their lives easier. Is that too much to ask for? And I am sure until today not many would have even proposed a need for a safe and separate duty room to their management in fear of being dismissed as "Why do you need to rest while on duty?" Or "Oh, the female residents and their demands. It was better with the boys only." or "We used to stay awake for 48 hours straight during our days. Why can't you do the same?". Most hospitals have one shared duty room for men and women or, worse, one room for more than ten to twelve residents combined. When such situations arise, residents are forced to rest in nursing counters, seminar rooms, changing rooms or unoccupied patient beds, which puts them at risk. 

Let me not forget about the innumerable calls that one needs to attend from patients, family, seniors, neighbours, friends and well wishers. And God forbid, any of them have any hobbies or life outside the hospital! And regarding the well paid part, not every hospital pays their residents well. I know places that pay less than 10 thousand per month for all the above works combined. And a lot of these earnings go into investing on books, study materials, research purposes and a lot more. And as individuals with a life, we also have to spend on food, family and other basic amenities. And for being so called well paid, why aren’t the taxes we pay getting invested in making hospitals a safe space for doctors?

Gone are the days when medical professionals were treated with dignity. These days, it's a blessing if we aren't abused and treated normally. None of us claim to be God or the next to him. But we are human beings too with basic needs. Treat us like one with dignity and safety provisions. All I have to say is that it isn't a bed of roses for doctors. A lot of us have or are living through this while the administration and governments turn a blind eye to the residents' needs. Now, tell me will you encourage someone you know to take up medicine as a career? So before you comment again, "They earn a lot. Why should we care?" remember that the earning comes from working amidst all these while the taxes we pay go to waste. 

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