Medical Jousting.

Student:

Question *

Dear sir,
I started my practice a few years ago in my hometown and built my hospital.
Recently, I got to know that one of the doctors was talking bad to the patients about our hospital being far from the town and that it is very expensive.
How should one approach this situation?

ANSWER :

Fasten the seat belt.

Unkind words ahead. If you are a judgemental person, please don’t read further.

Medical jousting means a doctor making critical comments against another doctor.

Rivalry amongst competitors is seen in each field. Nations, Companies and politicians fight with each other. It’s Nothing new..and it’s pardonable as it is human nature.

And, the same thing is seen in the medical fraternity also. But Medical jousting is not pardonable because we are dealing with the lives of people.

TRUST is the most important factor for the healing of the disease process. Trust builds the inner security of a person and various chemicals/hormones/endorphins are related to trust and faith.
If patients don’t trust doctors, healing will be compromised.
If patients don’t trust the medical profession (read Allopathy), healing will be affected.

When doctor B speaks against doctor A, then trust in the medical profession is endangered.  Thereafter patients start suspecting everyone including doctor B who tried to project himself ‘Holier than thou…
Jousting doesn’t work in the long term…

You can’t gain the trust of a person by speaking critically against someone else.
You have to build trust through your good behaviour. Many people don’t understand simple principles.
You can’t go higher by pulling others down. You must improve yourself to go to a higher level.

Solutions

1. You must be having a Whatsapp group of local doctors. Post a message that you would do sting operations against doctors who try to tarnish the your reputation. And, file a criminal case under S.500 IPC which is a punishable offence with 2 years of jail.
2. Request the local doctors association to pass a resolution that whoever does the medical jousting would be excommunicated.
3. Local doctor associations can create a committee to deal with Jousting matters. If any doctor B feels that doctor A is violating professional rules, then the best platform to complain is the medical association, not patients… Discuss and fix issues at the proper platform instead of bitching in front of patients and damaging the profession.

Q. Why do medical associations need to work on the jousting issue urgently?
Nowadays patients are hyperconnected. If someone has a grudge against doctor A and if Doctor B puts on some oil, the issue can blow up without any reason.
Jousting is the number one cause of false court cases against doctors…
Already modern medicine as a branch is struggling against various pseudoscience superstitions, magic, baba, Tantrik and quacks.
If doctors themselves ruin the branch which has been established by sacrifices of thousands of medical professionals in the last few decades, If the general public loses their trust then only GOD can save the public…
Eventually, the Public will suffer in the long term…

It’s time to THINK..

Anonymous. What’s written is important than who has written it)