Story of An Ordinary Indian Doctor- Dr. Nasser

Being a salesman has its rewards. The one which I treasure the most is perhaps the opportunity it provides to meet with people from varied walks of life during my visits to the various retail showrooms in Calcutta. Everyday, I keep meeting artists who want a smart looking phone, professors from USA holidaying in India, doctors in search of a high speed internet connection, army men enquiring if they can use the phone in Kashmir, rickshaw pullers wanting a low tariff recharge, foreigners asking for directions to the Victoria memorial, bus drivers wondering why their phone is not ringing, employees of foreign embassies requesting for service engineers who can speak proper English...the list goes on...and on...

I met Dr. Nasser, during one such visit to one of our showrooms. He wanted an internet connection for his laptop. We chatted while the transaction was being completed. I came to know that he worked in a well known city hospital. The conversation ended there.

Next time we met was few months later. It was in the same showroom where we had met the first time. He had come to pay his monthly phone bill.

We started chatting about the weather, literally, and before we knew it, he was telling me about his life...

Nasser is the youngest of 2 brothers and 2 sisters. A Kashmiri Muslim by birth, he grew up in the beautiful city of Srinagar. His father was a civil servant in the state government and mother a housewife. His elder brother is a Chartered Accountant. When he wanted to pursue medicine as a profession, his father was against the idea. He wanted his son to become a civil servant. But, sons seldom listen to their fathers, and Nasser completed his MBBS from Government Medical College, Srinagar. He followed this up with a master’s degree in Lucknow, before landing up in Calcutta to pursue his super-specialty course from a well known hospital.

Probably, there is not much to write about Nasser, which is unique enough. But, then again, I found his thoughts reflecting that of many young people including yours truly.

He still wonders whether he took the right decision to stay back in India. One would say, it’s the right decision to stay put give back to your country. But, consider this. Of the 8 friends in his batch who completed their MBBS, 6 went abroad and decided to settle down in the US. This made Nasser wonder if he was doing something stupid, considering majority of his peers were following a different path.

“I know, I will be earning a lot less than what I could have, if I had shifted to the US. But, then again, some of my teachers who inspired me have done just that. They are not just good, but great doctors and are world renowned. But, they have resisted the temptation, and decided to give back to society despite the various challenges”, says Nasser.

“I know, I may be a small fry in the larger scheme of things, but I am confident I can definitely make a difference, howsoever miniscule. Which is why, after completion of my studies, I want to go back to Kashmir, and practice there. I feel, I can make a bigger difference there considering the lack of facilities in the state.”

I asked in return, “Don’t you think that the environment abroad is more conducive to pursue your practice? Will it not provide a much better learning environment? Which in turn, will help you become a much better doctor?”

Nasser replied,” You see, the foreign hospitals definitely have far better facilities and they do provide much better work environment. But, the Indian system teaches you to become street smart, in a way which no first world country can. There is a very good reason for this.  Let’s assume you have high fever with certain x, y and z symptoms. In an US hospital, usually the doctor will have a set of tests conducted which will give very accurate results, and assist in good diagnosis and subsequent treatment. This is the way they are trained. But, in India, our teachers have taught us to approach it in a different way. For the same patient described before, our teachers would ask us, out of these 5 tests, which do you think is the most appropriate for a patient with x, y and z symptoms? ”

According to Nasser, there is a very good reason for this approach. In the west, most of the developed nations are welfare states. Hence, medical expenses are in majority of cases taken care of, by the state. So, conducting plethora of tests to get to the root of the problem is not a cause for concern, for the patient. But, in India, in most cases, the patient’s family would need to shell out the money for all the tests. In most cases, that would be a big burden on the pocket. So, the doctor has to go for the most effective and least expensive path. For an Indian doctor, learning to be street smart, is not just smart, but a matter of life or death.

This logic of Nasser was further corroborated by another friend of mine; Dr. Sajid. Sajid is a surgeon, who has many patients from the lower strata of the society. He told me the story of Iqbal.

Iqbal is a rickshaw-puller in his mid-forties. He has a wife and 2 kids at home. He visited Dr.Sajid with severe lower back pain. For a proper diagnosis and accurate treatment, an MRI was essential. But, an MRI would cost few thousand rupees. And Sajid’s experience told him, that a surgery was required, to treat the problem. That would cost more money and a period of complete bed rest. But, Iqbal is a daily wage earner and if he stays away from work, his family starves. So, what does the doctor do in such a situation, where the best option is not practical for the patient?

Dr. Sajid advised Iqbal to ride his rickshaw maintaining a certain posture which would minimise the damage. He also advised Iqbal to regularly exercise to strengthen the area.

Was it the best possible treatment? Definitely not. But, for doctors like Nasser and Sajid, it’s all about providing the “best fit” treatment.

And it’s because of doctors like Nasser and Sajid, the Indian medical system manages to carry the burden of over 1 billion people.


Note: Names have been changed to protect privacy