The nation has just observed Doctors’ Day on July 1. Perhaps many are not aware that this day commemorates a great physician and institution builder, Dr BC Roy whose birth and death occurred on the same date 80 years apart. Dr BC Roy was Chief Minister of West Bengal between 1948 to 1962. He played a stellar role in establishing medical institutions like Jadavpur TB Hospital, Victoria Institution (college), Chittaranjan Cancer Hospital and the Chittaranjan Seva Sadan for women and children. He was referred to as the first medical consultant in the Indian sub-continent. The British Medical Journal credits Dr Roy of being more successful and dedicated than his contemporaries in several fields. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, on February 4, 1961.
The placing of the words patient-doctor and not doctor-patient in this editorial is calculated. For a doctor, the patient is the most important person, just as for the teacher, the student is more important than the subject. Patients visit a doctor with the hope of being healed. The least they ask is to be treated with respect and dignity, irrespective of their economic status. A patient desires that the doctor listen with patience before writing a prescription. After all, about 90% of a patient’s complaints are psychosomatic, meaning it’s more psychological than physical, hence the need to use Behavioral Science as a starting point to understand why a patient behaves a certain way and to then understand what the underlying causes of the patient’s ailments are.
Behavioural Science is related to human behaviour. In the past 70 years, scientists have developed and reframed a number of theories to explain the diverse patterns of human behavior, in different contexts and scenarios. Some of these theories can be combined and applied to daily clinical practice. Many a patient has walked out of the doctor’s clinic with a smile and feel they have experienced a healing touch. Others are not so fortunate. They encounter doctor behaviour that is downright rude or lacking empathy. Such patients leave the hospital/clinic with low self esteem and would not wish to return to the same doctor. At the root of this misunderstanding is the doctor’s inability to communicate in lay person’s language and of the patient to explain herself/himself clearly. It is possible that a doctor’s behaviour is affected because of family or professional problems. After all, they too are humans. And lest we forget they might be under stress and need counseling and a listening ear. Since March 2020, doctors have been on a 24×7 treadmill and overly burdened by the pandemic. They deserve public applause and gratitude.
