Doctors' Den (standard:non fiction, 2479 words)
Author: Juggernaut	Added: Nov 11 2010	Views/Reads: 2805/2031	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Expereinces coming from Doctors' family

Doctors' Den 

By 

Subba Rao 

The economic strength and benefits of the medical profession was
recognized as far back in early sixties in my native South Indian 
State. People in farming community have recognized that unlike farming, 
the medical business is neither risky nor cyclical, and the weather 
elements have very little influence.  Farmers encouraged their children 
to study hard to get admission into medical schools.  The rich farmers 
collectively invested, and built private medical schools for their 
children. The children of rich farmers rather than working on their 
farms started working on patients in the hospitals; rather than 
delivering calves in farmhouses, were delivering babies in maternity 
wards. Over a period of the last four decades, the farming community 
was transformed into a rich medical community. 

Students from the lower social economic communities complained that
because of their social environment, they received poor education, and 
therefore could not get admission into medical schools with their poor 
grades.  These students with poor grades demanded, and received special 
reservation for acceptance to medical schools. Thus, the student from 
the lower social economic communities expanded their numerical 
representation in medical schools.  Thus medical community expanded its 
membership beyond the traditional intelligent students to encompass the 
mediocrity from very rich families, and socially poor communities, both 
unfit to be accepted to any medical school based on academic excellence 
and merit. 

Unlike a client of lawyer, an accountant, or an insurance agent, a
doctor's patient is a person in pain from some sort of ailment, some 
times serious and life threatening.  Therefore, patients place their 
lives in the hand of a doctor to get well, and sometimes place the 
doctors on a pedestal, some even treat them like god. 

This is my story of living in a den of doctors or Doctors' den. I was
born and raised in Doctors' den. It wasn't easy to be a son, brother, 
husband, brother-in-law, and nephew of a doctor.  My uncles, their 
children, and their spouses were all doctors. In total, our extended 
family has around two dozen medical doctors counting all the dead and 
the living. 

My poor grades at the college dashed my father's hope of putting me
through a medical school. At least he was happy that my older brother 
got accepted few years earlier, and my sister married a doctor 
afterwards to expand the medical membership in our immediate family 
circle.  This triggered a rat race in our extended family circles to 
have their children go to public schools or private medical schools 
with hefty tuition fee. Some of our poor relatives grumbled for lack of 
finance to send their children to expensive private medical schools but 
they were contended if one or two of their children got accepted in the 
very competitive public medical schools with scholarships based purely 
on excellent academic records. Some were happy to see their children 
get married to medical doctors. Either way, the M.D. membership grew 
over the decades in our extended family. 

To be directly related to a doctor has it's own advantages and
disadvantages.  My father practiced medicine for over three decades in 
a town of over one hundred thousand people. He was placed on a pedestal 
because he was a medical doctor; some even treated him like a god. He 
commanded respect wherever he went, and so the family members as well. 
At movies, we received preferred seating for free, and refreshments 
during intermission.  The down side being a son of a doctor was all my 
teachers expected me to become a doctor like my father, as well as my 
father's colleagues, and their children who were attending medical 
schools who frequently inquired about my future career.  It was 
hurtful, when people showed their disappointment openly when I mention 
I wasn't attending medical school. But this was long time ago, I haven 
gotten over those ill feelings. If added up, all the benefits and 
negative aspects, I still believe I was lucky my father was a medical 
doctor. 

To be a husband of a medical doctor was totally a different ball game


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