I’ve watched people die, many people, and very closely. I have also saved many lives and I hope I will save many more. I love my work but it entails inhumane working hours and poor working conditions. The sustained acute stress of the ‘job’ is so physically and mentally taxing that it pushes many to the brink of breaking down. I have sadly seen yet another bright-eyed colleague of mine break down to the point of attempting suicide just a few days ago. Thankfully, he failed at his attempt and will hopefully recover soon.
We are quick to label such people as ‘weak of mind and heart’ to have attempted to take their own life. These are individuals we label unworthy and unfit for the grind and glory, a blemish to the profession. We tend to slander them for even having made an attempt at it and their dear ones to have encouraged them to do so. We are wrong, strikingly wrong if and when we do so.
They made a choice and they tried and unfortunately, not everyone is wired the same way. We all have our set of skills and flaws and having one more than the other doesn’t make one bad or poor. Some are more sensitive to criticism, some perceive things differently, have a different way of coping. This doesn’t make them any less worthy, just that they probably require more nurturing than others. As colleagues, seniors and friends, it is our duty to ensure that we do our best to facilitate it.
Also, this incident like several more is yet another shout out to the government to look into the absolutely deplorable status of health care that currently exists. Lately, the government has been quick to point out flaws of healthcare professionals and even deride them on international platforms. Such an attitude while ignoring the lack of resources and facilities and trained hands will only foster discontentment and worsen the situation.
Unless a more mature and sensitive approach is taken for a critical industry like healthcare as a whole by one and all, we can be assured of health services only failing us in the future. We all are a part of the system and if we can prevent from trying to shift the blame to fixing it, we can definitely bring about great improvements. If not, we are only becoming a part of the slow death of the health system.