Need to examine the role of doctors as educators on this Teacher’s day

Doctors teach at every point in their career and help shape the next generation of experts

New Delhi, 05 September 2018: The basic meaning of the word ‘doctor’ should lead us to examine another angle to this profession. The word “doctor” in Latin means “teacher” and is derived from “docere,” meaning “to teach.” Hence, Teacher’s Day is an opportunity to look at doctors also as teachers.

Awareness must be raised on the fact that a doctor is primarily a teacher as well. Other identities such as healer, resident, consultant, attending, professor, and so on must not eclipse this basic role.

A good teacher is one who follows the principles of listening first, teaching in detail till confusion arises, and then teaching with reasoning while going into the minutest details and finally summarizing the ‘take–home’ messages. This is how Lord Krishna discoursed to Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita. In the first chapter, he only listens, in the second, he gives detailed counseling and from chapters 2 to 17, he gives reasoning and in 18th chapter, he revises.

Speaking about this, Padma Shri Awardee, Dr KK Aggarwal, President, HCFI, said, “As doctors, we get an opportunity to teach every day. We educate patients about their diagnosis, the possible outcomes, and the treatment options. We teach them about the benefits of following a certain lifestyle and the risk of others. Apart from this, we also educate the patient’s family members on how to help them, physically and emotionally. As teachers, doctors reach out to the community to spread awareness; give lectures on health and wellness; and share knowledge for the greater good of mankind. Some of us have faculty appointments at medical schools or volunteer as a clinical instructor or professor to pass on our expertise to the next generation of doctors. We are, thus, teachers in more ways than one.”

Teaching keeps doctors on guard about latest updates in their specialty. A good teacher is also a student for life. Recognition of merit can act as a great stimulant to do better.

Adding further, Dr Aggarwal, who is also the Group Editor-in-Chief of IJCP, said, “There is a need to cover communication skills and doctor-patient relationship in the medical curriculum. We must shift from the present didactic and less practical approach to include more hands-on teaching and student participation. In many hospitals, there is not enough material for clinical teaching and the teacher-student ratio is also not appropriate. Teachers need to spend more time with students and provide exposure to behavioral science and human relations.”

The 25^th MTNL Perfect Health Mela, to be held from 24^th to 28^th October 2018 at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, will also highlight how doctors can become effective teachers as well.

Some health sutras from HCFI that doctors can teach the masses.

Foods of plant in origin contain no cholesterol.
Any fat that is liquid at room temperature is saturated fat.
Any fat that is solid at room temperature is unsaturated fat
High blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol can remain silent for up to a decade.
A pulse rate of less than 60 or more than 100 is abnormal.
Weight loss of 10kg can reduce upper blood pressure by 5-20 mmHg.
Restricting salt intake to less than 6gm per day can reduce upper blood pressure by 2-8 mmHg.
A 1% increase in cholesterol increases chances of heart attack by 2%.
A 1% increase in good HDL cholesterol decreases chances of heart attack by 3%.
Any chest pain, which lasts for less than 30 minutes duration is not a heart pain.
Keep air pollution (particulate matter PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels) below 80 µg per cubic meter.
To revive a cardiac arrest victim, compress the center of the chest of the victim within 10 minutes of death (earlier the better) at least for the next 10 minutes (longer the better), with a speed of at least 10×10=100 per minute.