The dilemma that Indian doctors face today is that their profession is based on principles of morality, ethics and Hippocratic oath whereas accountability is based on consumer laws, RTI and Laws of tort. He is confused about the realities of his own practice. Out-of-hours duty and worsening work-life balance is the new normal. Unsafe working conditions, increasing incidence of patients attacking doctors and medico-legal debacle are now everyday news. Since I started my private practice as dermatologist 10 years back, I have witnessed a decline in students opting for medicine as a career.
Amazingly, this decline is counterintuitive to laws of demand and supply. According to MCI, India has one doctor for every 1722 people. Compare it to 1:714 in China and 1:384 in the US. This fall of interest in medicine can be attributed to several reasons: lower salaries for doctors, a longer…
