Doctor’s Day – 1st July, it’s history & importance
Doctor is a very noble profession and is normally compared with God, since it gives another life to the sufferings persons and generates a hope that there is someone to whom they can look forward to save their lives. Doctors are known for their dedication and devotion to cure ailments to help suffering people to get cured. The love and affection the doctors earn perhaps no other profession gets.
The treatment of Corona patients by Govt. and other hospital doctors, nurses and staff has won special applause from public and brought laurels to their dedication and devotion and selfless duty at the cost of not only their own lives but the lives of their families as well.
Doctor’s Day in India was established by the Government of India in 1991 to be recognized and celebrated every year on 1st of July as National Doctors day. It is celebrated on 1st of July on the birth and death anniversary of the most famous physician of India Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy (Dr. B.C. Roy) to pay lots of honor and tribute. He was honored with the great Indian civilian award Bharat Ratna on 4th of February in 1961. He was born on 1st of July in 1882 in the Patna, Bihar. He had completed his medical graduation from Calcutta and returned to the India in 1911 after completing his MRCP and FRCS degrees in London and began his medical career as a physician in India in the same year.
Later Dr. B.C. Roy, joined the Calcutta Medical College as a teaching staff and afterward he moved to the Campbell Medical School and then to Carmichael Medical College. He was a most famous physician and renowned educationist as well as a freedom fighter as he joined the Mahatma Gandhi during Civil Disobedience Movement. Later he became Indian National Congress leader and then Chief Minister of the West Bengal. He passed away on his birthday means 1st of July in 1962, after 80 years of his great service in this world. Dr. B. C. Roy National Award was instituted in the year 1976 to honor, respect and commemorate his memories.
As such National doctors day is celebrated every year all across the India on 1st of July to provide honor to the most famous and legendary physician as well as 2nd Chief Minister of the West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. He set an example of how a doctor should pay attention to patients and generate a mutual confidence. He was one of the rare doctors who used to diagnose diseases by feeling pulse alone unlike the specialist now who need different tests conducted before examining the patient.
Inspite of large population of India the average age of life expectancy of a person is going up which goes to the credit of doctors in many ways. The way Indian doctors are showing their qualities in treatment world over has made India a place to get best and cheaper treatment in the world. Indian doctors are renowned for this world over and people from different countries come to India for treatment.
All the same we know that there is shortage of doctors and hospitals / dispansaries in the country and specially in far flung areas and high hills. The students who take up the noble profession of doctors must realize that our country is quite wide and has got the variety of different terrains and climates. People all over the country need their services of dedication and devotion to reach every part for which they express their thanks and for which may God bless them.
Lately it has come to light that some of our doctors wish to make money out of this profession on the plea that they spend so much of money in getting their admission in medical colleges where they pay heavy donations and higher fees which when they become doctors wish to recover and pay back to those from where they have taken loans. In the process try to find out illegal ways and means to recoup that. Everybody knows where by adopting such practices the doctors fleece money from the patients who find it difficult to pay.
It is therefore suggested that Govt. should introduce systems where no donations for admissions are required to be paid and make medical study cheaper by reducing fees etc. Surprisingly, on the contrary the Govt. is encouraging increase in fees etc. in private medical colleges which leads to making studies most costlier. This is where the doctors are induced to use specialized (branded) medicine where there is vast difference in cost of production and supply where they make money. Similarly the various tests which some doctors ask the patients to get done at times, which are not required but are forced because the Medical Institutes run on carrying out such tests though not directly needed or private doctors get commission from Pathology labs for such tests which they refer to them. We all know that there is a vast difference in cost of generic and branded medicines and patients often talk of their less efficacy and feel miserable in their use when not getting cured. But those indulge in malpractices create some generic medicines where they play with the potency and quantity of the medicine used. There should be a medical board to detect and book such persons so that people do not suffer.
Sometimes common and poor people get stuck in the wrong hands of some irresponsible and unprofessional doctors which at times leads to public violence and protests against those doctors. The Govt. and associations of doctors should ensure that such practices are stopped forthwith and should not defame this noble profession of doctors. Let the faith in patients, that doctors are the second God and can cure all ailments, continue.
National doctors day is celebrated to mark the day as day of respect to entire professional doctors who have made their great efforts in saving the life of patients. It is a thanks giving day to show their love and affection for the priceless care they give to their patients. We convey our greetings to all doctors for their noble work and upliftment of the society.
Author:Brig. K.G. Behl (Retd.)
President, AICC & SNS, Uttarakhand
