BEING SELF OR SELFLESS

The title suggests something about medical professionals being self- or selfless.

I would like to share a recent incident about a close friend named Shreya. This incident describes a lot of traffic hustle scenarios (the incident place is Mumbai) where there was literally no space to walk and a lot of vehicles were in a queue. She had to catch a local train, which was at 6 o’clock in the evening, and it was already 5:45 pm in the evening, and she had to walk for another 10 minutes to catch the train and also to get the seat. Since the train arrives early, it becomes difficult to catch the seat. As she is also a medical professional, she also has a constant hustle, running, jumping, and doing all sorts of activities in the day. After a long, tiring day, she gets tired of standing and commuting and always finds a chance to sit and relax as much as possible because at home she has her personal consultations, and that makes her evening busy.

So to catch the train, she was running and walking fast between the traffic, and all of a sudden a motorbike approached her, and in order not to hurt her, the person immediately put on the brakes, but due to the short distance, the bike skidded and the person fell down in front of Shreya. She stood, stumbled for a second, and ran as fast as she could just to catch the train, and she almost forgot about the person until she reached home. After reaching home, she almost realized that despite being a medical professional, she didn’t stop to check on that person, and that made her feel guilty. Although she suspects that there was no major injury, still that incident hit her hard with the feeling of guilt and being empathetic; she couldn’t get through it for 2 whole days. Work kept her busy, but she subconsciously was thinking about the incident.

The only issue is that there was no other local for another 2 hours if she missed the train. Travelling via road costs her 3 hours of traffic, although the distance is only 30 minutes. She had to reach home by that train, as she had further consultations with other patients, and she was also not feeling well on the day of the incident.

What would you do in the situation? Will you stay or leave, and what else do you think you can do in the situation? Also share your thoughts on whether what she did was right or wrong and what could have been done.

MBH/PS

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Sometimes situations don’t give us the luxury of being ideal.In that moment, Shreya chose what felt necessary, not what felt noble. Stress, fatigue, responsibility, and time pressure can override even the best intentions. The fact that the incident stayed with her for days says enough about her empathy.Being a medical professional doesn’t mean we stop being human. Not every missed response is selfishness—sometimes it’s just circumstance.

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“Such complicated situations are part of a doctor’s life. One must trust their instincts.”

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This is a very human situation. In moments of stress, fatigue, and pressure, decisions aren’t always ideal. Feeling guilty later shows empathy was always there. Maybe a quick check or calling for help could have helped, but context matters. It’s not selfishness—it’s human limitation.

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In that moment, prioritizing safety and responsibility mattered. It wasn’t wrong it’s just human. Sometimes self-care and duty coexist, and empathy can still follow later.

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It is such a tough situation to get pass through but in that time consciousness is on traffic and work tension and reaching home so it is not selfishness. It is self preserving and pacing energy for consultations with other patients.

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Similar situation happened with me to while I was traveling in train to my hometown from college for holidays I was asleep at night (2-3am) but in beside coach a grandma wasn’t feeling okay and I think she had a panic attack due to suffocation and as I could recollect she was sweating alot and also wasnt able to breathe properly but I didn’t woke up from the sleep to help the grandma though being a pharma student I had knowledge of what should be done and then when I reached home I felt guilty.

Grandma was fine she just needed water and fresh air.

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It is very hard to be empathetic in such situations and we might carry that guilt along with us. Its a burden many people face .

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In high-pressure moments, we often act on instinct and urgency, not perfect judgment. That doesn’t make someone selfish…it makes them human

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In that moment, choosing to run wasn’t selfish—it was a human response shaped by exhaustion, responsibility, and circumstance.

What matters is the guilt she felt later; it shows her empathy is intact, and sometimes caring deeply also means learning how to forgive yourself.

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