Doctor in Question or the Profession in question?

 
The Words 'Profession' and 'Professionalism' stand for Excellence in Service, Status and Excellence and Commitment in Society since time immemorial.  Doctor/Medicine, Law, Engineering professions are the ones who have been known to be associated with Professionalism and high ideal of Service. What differentiates a profession from a job / occupation? ..... The differentiating factors are : 1.Autonomy and Self Governance 2. Service Mindedness, 3.Long and Continuing Professional Education, 4. Indispensability of the Work / Service.  As every one knows, Professions like Medicine, Law, Engineering etc command high respect and status in society. Lots of occupations / jobs like Nursing, Social Work, Teaching, Librarianship, Accounting etc  keep aspiring for the  privileges, status, respect and societal attention that the Established Professions like Medicine, Law etc command.

What is happening to the Practice of Medicine / Doctors is not very healthy either to Doctors or to the Clients or to Society in General. Altaf Patel's article "The Good Doctor on Modern medicine and Age-old Common Sense"(Times of India, December 2013) is indeed an eye opener for the issues talked about in this write up.  Zist of what Altaf Patel says (includes quotes) :

1. Doctors routing patients from their hospitals to their private clinics,
2. Raised a question as to ... 'whether doctors practice be treated as a Business
3. In my mind, that is an ugly way (means treating the medical practice as a business) of describing the profession.
4. Earlier Hospitals used to be established and managed by Charitable Trusts, now more of them are established and managed by public limited organizations.
5. One must consider that ever since the courts have ruled medicine as a consumer service there has been a great change in the way doctors practice medicine.
6. Regulation for medical negligence was previously done by Medical Councils who understood the intricacies of medicines, which I would not expect a learned judge to understand.
7. Encouraging patients to do all sorts of tests to find a disease.

THE WAY THE PROFESSION IS PRACTICED BY DOCTORS, THE WAY HOSPITALS ARE MANAGING BY BUSINESS MODELS, THE WAY CONSUMERISM IS MAKING INROADS IN THE PRACTICE, THE WAY MEDICAL DISPUTES ARE HANDLED, THE WEAKENED ROLE OF MEDICAL COUNCILS ...... ALL THESE ARE ENOUGH INDICATIONS OF DE-PROFESSIONALIZATION AND GOING DOWN ON THE SCALE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS. 

SHALL WE EXPECT PROFESSIONS TO CONTINUE TO BE CALLED AS CALLINGS? .... HOPE BRIGHTER AND FINER DAYS ARE AHEAD.

"PROFESSIONS N PROFESSIONALISM" is looking forward to shortlist/select prospective authors/contributors. If you are passionate and interested in writing and publishing for this blog you may forward your request to LbnRaj at : lotus5673@yahoo.co.in ; https://www.facebook.com/lbnrajspage