This is usually the time students take the entrance exams to their dream careers. Perhaps you are one of those who had earnestly prepared for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and aspired to become a doctor. But being a medical professional takes much more than cracking the entrance exam and the Covid-19 pandemic has proven that all over again.
The superheroes of these times don't wear a cape but often a stethoscope around their neck. Doctors and other healthcare workers are on the frontline in the fight against the coronavirus. Take Dr Balaji Vasu. He is an internal medicine resident at a government hospital in Chennai, Stanley Medical College, and is posted in the Covid ward. 'Whenever a patient comes we take a detailed history and thoroughly examine the patient. Based on that we triage [decide the order of treatment] a patient as mild, moderate or severe. We take swabs for testing and patients are treated according to protocol. A minimum of two rounds [of the ward] are taken in a shift but the number increases if there are more sick patients,' shares Dr Vasu.
Sneha Chanda on duty at the Amdanga Gramin Hospital and Aditi Jain (right) at teh Infectious Diseases and Beliaghata General Hospital Sourced by The Telegraph
Although this work involves a lot of risk as these doctors are incessantly being exposed to the novel coronavirus, there is also a sense of contentment in a job well done. 'Getting a patient out of danger and saving him or her is a feeling no other professional can experience. It's a feeling that is a mixture of happiness, satisfaction and pride,' says Dr Vasu.
Apart from treatment, counselling patients is becoming increasingly important. Says Dr Sayanava Saha Biswas, a medical officer at ILS Hospitals, Dum Dum, in Calcutta, 'There are people coming to the emergency with acute panic attacks. We are trying to gently explain the scenario to them. I personally want people to be aware of the situation and not be apprehensive. I wash my hands carefully after seeing each and every patient. We have been provided with head cap, goggles, N95 mask and full cover gown. We are examining suspected fever patients with PPE (personal protection equipment) and changing the PPE after each visit.' Going to the hospital in a panic would mean exposing oneself to the virus and would cause more harm than good. If we really want to stay safe then young and old alike need to realise the gravity of the situation and take the necessary precautions without being unduly frightened or depressed.
Not only doctors but interns posted in different departments in the hospitals also are working relentlessly for long hours. They are being assigned tasks such as attend- ing the out patients department (OPD), screening them, sending those with Covid-19-like symptoms for testing, taking care of suspected patients, assisting senior doctors and admitting Covid-19 positive patients. They are, however, not treating confirmed Covid-19 patients.
Says Sneha Chanda, who is an intern at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta, 'I am posted in the community medicine department and I was serving at the Amdanga Gramin Hospital [in Barasat Sadar block in North 24- Parganas, West Bengal] in March, right in the middle of the lockdown. In Amdanga, there were many daily wage earners who had just returned from various places, including those where the pandemic was already raging. They had a travel history and would come to get themselves checked. I came across quite a few patients who showed symptoms of Covid-19 disease and sent around seven or eight with a travel history for screening to the Infectious Diseases and Beliaghata General Hospital in Calcutta.' Better known as the ID Hospital, the sprawling healthcare centre at Beliaghata was handling the lion's share of Covid-19 cases until Bangur Hospital was designated as a Covid-19 treatment centre quite recently.
Says Aditi Jain, an intern at the KPC Medical College and Hospital in Jadavpur who is currently posted at the ID Hospital, 'I am handling the OPD and emergency patients. In case of Covid-19 positive patients, we just admit them -- handling and treatment is done by a special team of doctors. The protocols being followed to get a patient tested for Covid-19 falls in a grey zone. As a result, it becomes very difficult to get people tested and so a patient with no or mild symptoms may go undetected for a long time and be a source of community spread.' The dearth of proper PPE and N95 masks is a severe problem being faced by healthcare personnel. Some hospitals are deciding whether to use N95 masks or triplelayered masks and PPE based on whether they are catering to a high or low-risk zone.
The doctors and interns also have to take special care not to endanger the health of their loved ones at home. While some are opting not to return home at all and staying at hostels near the hospital, others are preferring to keep themselves in self-isolation at home.
'I haven't gone home in the past two months even though it is in the same city,' says Dr Vasu wistfully. Some doctor parents are leaving their children with grandparents as they concentrate on fighting the pandemic at government or private hospitals. 'I am staying at the hostel despite many problems only because I want to make sure that my parents and grandparents don't get exposed to the virus because of me. With the mess and canteen here closed due to the lockdown, we are not getting proper food. We are being forced to cook after returning from duty so that we can get something to eat. The same is true of our seniors,' says Chanda.
These doctors talk about the Hippocratic Oath they took at the time of graduation and how they are striving to follow it. 'This is a time of national and global crisis. There will never be a better opportunity to serve our community and our nation as doctors,' says Jain when asked what drives her to face and fight this contagion.
It is their immense dedication to the profession and passion to heal the world that is inspiring them to drive themselves so hard. 'If you really love this job, come and join us. You have to be capable of tackling mental pressure though. Don't be tempted by just the social trappings,' advises Dr Biswas of ILS.
Now that you have a chance, think very carefully about why you want to be a doctor before appearing for the medical entrance exam..
