There has been an alarming spurt in violence against doctors in India, and there are lots of videos on social media showing the sorry state of affairs. Undoubtedly, better security and legislation is the key to controlling such behavior, but as a community, we also need to introspect on the reasons for this situation and what we can change to improve it. It has been reported that many disputes arise from relatively small arguments that sometimes boil down to trivial ego clashes. There will, of course, be occasions (especially in emergency situations)when relatives are unreasonably aggressive, but many times such situations can be defused by better communication and controlling the natural instinct to retaliate or be defensive.
There is a fine line between being assertive and offensive. Better communication is a key to improving patient confidence. There is little emphasis on…
