New Delhi: The nation is celebrating National Doctors’ Day today to recognize the immense contribution of medics, physicians and surgeons in ensuring healthy life for individuals and communities.
As the nation slowly recovers from the devastating pandemic, we spoke to several reputed doctors who shared their crucial insight on the deadly disease and also shared their journey during Covid-19 times.
Dr. Shuchin Bajaj, Founder Director, Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals
We are in the middle of a global pandemic. While, the world is undergoing a huge crisis, these difficult times have once again reminded us the value of our doctors and the healthcare staff. To honor these noble people, Doctor’s Day is celebrated on July 1st every year. The day provides us with an opportunity to thank our doctors for their selfless efforts and contribution towards mankind. With the number of infected people on the rise every day and hospitals being flooded with people in thousands regularly, doctors are the superheroes at this point.
Dr. Jyoti Kapoor, Senior Psychiatrist and Founder of Manasthali
Doctors have enjoyed a singular status in community, on one end being put on a pedestal as saviours of humanity and on the other end being vociferously maligned for being licensed killers. The COVID pandemic further exaggerated the reactions of masses, sometimes being hailed as glorious warriors and at others being beaten up to death. Acknowledging a profession as a discreet part of one’s life and not associating it to the whole persona of a person is probably difficult for a society which defines identity with one’s occupation. If we are asked who we are, we often say , “doctor” or “teacher” or “painter” presuming, “what we are is what we do”. But being a doctor puts us in extreme dilemmas, about drawing boundaries for personal and professional life, about charity and earning for a better quality of life, about fighting for dignity and letting ourselves be seen as service providers for a consumerist world. It’s no more about passion and zeal to reduce suffering but balancing personal satisfaction and social altruism. On every July 1, I ask myself the same question, given a chance, would I still choose to be a doctor, and the answer is always a ‘yes’, not because it fulfils my need for social altruism by allowing me to reduce suffering and pain, not because it gives me a social stature and a prefix, not because it allows me to earn a living, but because it is who I am. I am a doctor and I am grateful for the opportunities it provides !”
Dr Sameer Kulkarni, Regional Director, Paras Hospitals Gurugram
For all of us, the current pandemic that the world is undergoing is perhaps the most difficult time we are ever facing in our lives. It is even more difficult for the doctors who are working tirelessly to ensure that all those that are infected are provided with proper medical facilities. Their contributions and hard work deserve our gratitude each and every day and not only on any particular day. Their contribution to the healthcare industry is incomparable.”
Dr. Shubhang Aggarwal, Orthopaedic & Joint Replacement Surgeon, NHS Hospital, Jalandhar
On this doctors day, I would first appreciate the hard work put in by all doctors and healthcare workers across the country in this covid pandemic. Third-wave is being spoken of and people must understand that staff and doctors are now facing burn-out issues and are getting exhausted. I appeal to all to ensure that they follow all social distancing and mask precautions and get their vaccination done so that we can avoid the third wave together”
Mr Manish Gupta , General Manager , Columbia Asia Hospital, Palam Vihar, Gurgaon
I would like to wish my fellow doctors on the occasion of Doctor’s Day and hope they remain safe and healthy to serve the community in the future. We must be prepared for an even more challenging future that may lie ahead. The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard for everyone, even for doctors, who have been risking their lives to help people during the coronavirus pandemic and save their lives. While on the one hand when people are isolating themselves, we, doctors are constantly fighting for the lives of people who have been infected. Doctors have emerged as the real superheros, not just during this pandemic, but for all the time.
