THE EXPERIENCED DOCTOR

©️Dr. Aparna Govil Bhasker

This morning as I was getting ready to go to the hospital, I looked in the mirror and a streak of grey hair caught my attention. I paused for a moment and a bittersweet emotion passed through me. As a doctor, grey hair bring in a lot of validation from patients. Grey hair signify experience and who wouldn’t want to see an #experienced doctor. Rather who wants to see an inexperienced doctor! I guess no one.

But what does “experience” mean in its true context?

Experience means years of rigorous training to hone our skills to be able to diagnose and treat illnesses.

Experience means to be able to effectively ease physical and mental pain and save lives.

Experience means understanding, guiding and providing support to hundreds and thousands of people day in and day out for years on end.

Experience means to be able to communicate effectively and give out the correct information without taking away hope.

Experience means doing our job and doing it well consistently.

Experience could also mean, exposing ourselves to deadly infections in order to save someone else’s life.

Experience means accepting that sometimes the worst patients may get better and the most unexpected ones may get worse.

Experience means knowing that sometimes despite all our efforts, things may still go wrong.

Experience means realizing that #nature is the third element between a doctor and a patient.

Experience means accepting that this third element, that is nature, will always remain more powerful than any advances in medical science.

Experience is finally a lesson in humility ….. and if we have learnt that, we are truly experienced.

Dr Aparna Govil Bhasker