CAREER OPTIONS
Life in a white coat
WHAT'S UP DOC? by Dr. Saranya Nandakumar, with a foreword by leading cardio-thoracic surgeon Dr. Solomon Victor, is a commentary on the lot of a doctor in India today. Being Chennai-based, her experiences are naturally Chennai-centred but they could well be representative of what is happening in India as a whole.
Partly autobiographical, the book courses through the making of a doctor, from getting admission into medical college, through post-graduation to specialisation. Lest readers conclude that medicine is all about knights in shining armour with the world at their feet, Nandakumar elaborates on the disquieting news that high-tech medicine brings, such as exorbitantly costly tertiary care which increases the quantity of life at the expense of quality, prenatal gender discrimination and the attendant scourge of female foeticide and so on.
There are exceptions
The inexorable commercialisation of medical education where money rather than merit decides who is to become a doctor in turn leads to commercialisation of medical practice, points out Nandakumar; for, such doctors would invariably be more interested in recovering the money that cost them to become a doctor rather than in caring for poor, sick patients.
And yet, there are many Chennai doctors who have not only survived the minefield, but have set benchmarks for competence, compassion and integrity. Nandakumar's write-ups on some of these contemporary greats are sure to inspire the targeted readers — youngsters contemplating a career in medicine. In fact, Parity Books has published the book as one of its series on careers.
Neatly brought out and without too many printing errors, the book is a pleasant read for anyone interested in today's medical scene besides wannabe doctors.
HIRAMALINI SESHADRI
What's Up Doc?, Dr. Saranya Nandakumar, Parity Paperbacks, 2004, p.154, Rs.250.
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