Medicine & Research

One of the reasons I keep urging the medical fraternity to get into research is that they don't yet realise that we, as doctors, are fighting a losing battle. To understand this better, imagine a battle between two armies. One is fighting with swords, and the other, fighting with guns. The sword wielders will definitely fight valiantly, day and night, but will they ever be able to win the battle?

The current system of Indian medicine has somehow become okay with the coarse way of treating illnesses. Ways that prevent you from dying but not letting you live the way a healthy person can. Ventilators. Open surgeries. Symptomatic generic treatment. All of these are full of disadvantages, yet we don't have any other tool at our dispense. Swords vs guns, remember?

The idea behind getting every person in this fraternity into research is that innovation is an arduous, lengthy and often unrewarding process. It's easy to demand new treatment modalities and equally challenging to develop them in reality. However, that's where our collective strength comes into play. "None of us is as strong as all of us." In a world where each doctor is trying to innovate, it will definitely be miles better than the stage we are in. A world where we bring people back to life and not just prevent them from dying.