10/04/2025
THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF MEDICINE IS 'LOVE':
Paracelsus (1493-1541)
Paracelsus once suggested that at the core of medicine lies a profound sense of compassion. This idea emphasizes the crucial role of love in healing.
The Importance of Love in Medicine
At the heart of medicine is a simple fundamental principle: love. This concept may sound unusual but plays a pivotal role in the practice of healing. Love is essential for mending and alleviating symptoms and diseases. In medicine, love shows up as kindness, compassion, understanding, empathy and genuine care that doctors and nurses extend to their patients. Hence my attitude and behaviour towards you, kindness and at times frustration, but both reflecting one thing: my love towards you.
First and foremost, love helps build trust between patients and doctors. When patients feel that their doctors/healthcare providers genuinely care about their well-being, they are more likely to share, be open and honest about their symptoms and worries. This openness is important for making accurate diagnoses and deciding on the best treatments.
Those patients who have been with me or consulted me, will remember being gently reprimanded and reminded to explain their symptoms more openly, to be more precise when explaining their symptoms and be more detailed. They are requested to explain what they mean by certain words and phrases that they say. This detailed information that I request, forms the backbone upon which I come up with my medical diagnosis (or at times list of possible diagnosis). If you, as the patient, would like me to come up with a proper diagnosis, then it is vital that I get as much information on your condition as possible.
For me, as the doctor, it is my duty to ensure that I extract all the necessary and prerequisite information from you. That should tell you why I am strict on these aspects, can appear harsh at times, ask you to explain yourself properly, and stopped you whilst you are talking, especially, when you divert from the main issue, do not answer the precise questions I ask you and when you start telling me that Dr X said so, Dr Y did this or the clinic admitted me or gave me this, etc...(hence you hear phrases I often use, like: mo pas envie ecoute bann zistoire ki ban docteur inn dire ou ki traitement ounn gagner dans bann clinic, etc, mo pou demande ou sa bann zafaire la kand mo pou besoin conner) as these 'zistoire' will not help me get to the bottom of your problem. They will not aid me in getting the right diagnosis for you.
I will also stop you several times and request you to confirm whether the information you are providing are correct, especially, when I am doubtful of the information you are providing or when I am not entirely convinced about those purported information. Often patients present information that he/she thinks the doctor should know or only provide information, not always factual, that she/he believes will make the doctor feel satisfied or portrays that he/she (the patient) has been a good patient and doing the right things. You are not here to make me happy, and I do not charge you for making me happy. My job is to make you better (and happy too). When you come to see me, it then becomes my responsibility to make you better, to get the correct diagnosis and ensure that I prescribe the correct and necessary pills and treatment. These actions of mine are simply a reflection of the love and care that I have for you, as my patient, or as someone who has knocked my door for help.
These conversations, at times, may turn quite strict, especially if the patients continue to report unnecessary or irrelevant information, fails to clarify my queries, lacks clarity in providing the information, or does not give a straight answer to my straightforward and simple question. I know, many have faced this situation during their consultation, quite a few may not have like it, and a couple have never returned to me as a result.
Remember, I do not do these detailed questioning for fun, to put you down or to pester you, but simply because I care, because I want to get to the bottom of your problem, because I want to know what precisely is wrong with you, so that I can give you the right and correct treatment, so that I can get you better, so that I can make you feel well in yourself, so that I can bring your health back, so that I can see that smile back on your face, so that I can help your family, your loved ones breathe a sigh of relief, so that you don't have to go elsewhere and spend several thousands of rupees or be given unnecessary treatment without a proper diagnosis or be treated on an attempted trial basis. I want to treat you with precision based on the correct information you have provided me, not based on approximation or inaccurate information. If you want to best outcome for your symptoms and for your health, then you need to supply and provide me with accurate and all the necessary information and clarify all my queries.
If my skills do not suit you, then your alternative options are: 1. To attend a state funded centre, reviews about the care offered are available on social media and reads like, 'Dr la in commence ecrire prescription meme ki avant monn fini coze...linn donn moi zis pana### et linn pas meme tousse moi…' 2. To seek medical advice or recommendations on Facebook (I certainly will not share my analysis of what I make of those recommendations) or 3. You get admitted somewhere, where often, no detailed history is taken from you, where the same standard treatment are often given to most patients immaterial of their symptoms (IV Paracetamol, IV vitamin supplements, IV antibiotics, IV omeprazole and if you are unlucky enough, Steroids (cortisone) along with some blood tests, several unnecessary scans and many a times, several unjustified interventions). In the latter option, even after spending several thousands of rupees, you (the patients) still have no clue about the diagnosis (or have not understood the diagnosis), and will then seek second, third, fourth or fifth opinion before finally reaching me (and overwhelming me with your medical records/list of investigations, prescription and your story- causing me utmost grief and sadness, at times anger and many a times utter frustration). I often ask only one question to the patient: so, after spending such a fortune, what did x say or what do you understand is the cause of your problem, or in simple terms, what is the diagnosis? And like a deja vu, I hear this wonderful and famous phrase, that I am now so used to (and tired of) hearing: 'mo pas conner', meaning I don’t know. (I however know or hear your reason or rationale for this ‘mo pas conner’ answer and I understand your predicament and difficulty here, as many of you have told me. I feel sorry for the experience you had undergone). I just want you to remember one thing: I care for you, and I certainly am dedicated to your well-being, and committed to providing you with the best possible medical treatment and advice based on my knowledge and expertise, and act with honesty, integrity, and compassion.
Moreover, the act of caring and the feeling of being cared for enhances and can speed up the healing process. The emotional comfort that comes from loving interactions can significantly make a big difference in how well someone feels and thereby impacting on his/her recovery journey.
Additionally, medicine often involves tough situations that test the resilience of both patients and doctors. Love gives hope, instils a sense of optimism and encouragement. These are essential elements when confronting illness and suffering. It drives healthcare professionals to go the extra mile to help their patients and contribute to holistic healing. That is what empowers me, motivates me and pushes me to be better, do better and provide more enhanced care to my patients. Little bit of extra effort, additional bit of extra love added to the medicine portion, will certainly do no harm and cost nothing. But it certainly helps build-up a better doctor-patient relationship, amplifies the faith between us and unquestionably delivers a better health outcome. My relationship with my patients is built on trust, commitments and mutual respect.
I can proudly say that the love, affection, respect and the admiration that I get from you all, is invaluable and cannot be measured in financial gains or time loss. I certainly do not see these reciprocal feelings, level of respect and admiration for doing and delivering the same standard of care from the western culture. The contentment, inner happiness and satisfaction, that I derive from seeing you, my patients, in making you feel better is remarkably outstanding. The sheer exuberance and high spirits that I gain in bringing my expertise and skills to your benefit is invaluable and priceless. I am so grateful for this happiness that you bring to me, and I feel so fortunate to be in such a position to experience your reciprocal love and admiration for me. This is the reason, that keeps bringing me back to Paradise Island, a place where I can bring my knowledge and expertise to restore your health to a satisfactory level, and needless to say, to feel part of your life and to cherish and savour your love.
