‘The Doctor’s word’, a story I read in school, written by Mr. R.K. Narayan, is one that keeps circling from my subconscious mind to practical life every now and then. In this short story, Dr. Raman is an experienced doctor who never whitewashed his predictions for the patient and patient’s family. He always gave straight forward replies, when asked if the patient will live or not. If there was any chance he would work really hard such that the patient saw the next day. But if he knew the outcome was not in favour of the patient’s life, he would be direct in telling the bitter truth. The patient and the patient’s family gave this doctor’s word great value and respect. But one day, when Dr. Raman’s friend of forty years was sick in bed, he said that his friend would survive and improve, even when the doctor felt there were less chances that his friend would survive. But his friend lives to see the next morning.
This story makes me wonder, are pills, treatment procedures or therapies enough for a patient to improve in their condition? Pills, therapeutic or surgical procedures are the tools through which treatments usually occur. Thankfully, because of research and development and improved medical and pharmacological education, a lot of diseases come under the spectrum of being curable. Logically, pills would carry out their actions by interacting with various components inside the body. The action and impact of pills, surgeries and therapies is well established and researched. But these are not the only factors that bring results in patients.
Sometimes, the words of a doctor have an invisible impact on the patient. A diplomatic yet positive statement could help a patient with, say, paralysis recover faster. But a wrongly delivered statement could make a patient with a simple headache deteriorate. In case of chronic conditions or severe illnesses or operative procedures, words can provide a sense of relief to the patients that medicines can not. How a doctor speaks to the patient, in a way, determines the Doctor’s skills, patient satisfaction and sometimes the prognosis of a patient. Maybe this is the reason why, consulting or counselling, though time-consuming, is an important part of treatment.
Of course, words are only words and the treatment is the real thing. But according to me, medicines/procedures have a lot of action, the words of a Doctor here are louder. What are your thoughts?
Also read: ‘The Doctor’s word’: Malgudi days by R.K. Narayan.
MBH/AB