One of our senior colleague from another civic hospital passed away suddenly due to a massive heart attack. There had been no history of ischemic heart disease. I was stunned when I read about it in the newspapers. He has been just two years older than me. A nice person, liked by all. I reached the hospital. One colleague met me and said “Sir, did you read about the tragic death of Dr. xxxx xxxxx?” I was surprised because the smile on that colleague’s face belied the words uttered.
“Yes, very tragic” I said, thinking perhaps the facial muscles of this person did not know how to express happiness differently from grief. Some time passed. Another colleague who was on leave arrived for some work. That one had not had time to read the newspaper and had not known about this tragedy. When I told her about it, she said “how surprising, isn’t it? He must have been just a couple of years older than us.” Actually they were the same age. I was stunned by finding a smile on face of this colleague too. Was it an inability to show a sad expression, or a happiness that death had passed one by and visited another person?
When I read the other newspaper in the evening after the day’s work as I normally do, I read a journalist stating that this death highlighted the fact that doctors have long working hours, irregular meals, stress of work and hence they get heart attacks. It must be the journalist’s way of generalizing things about doctors without actual knowledge. Most of the senior doctors do not fit in this description. It is appropriate for young doctors in training and at the beginning of their professional career. I do not mean this about the colleague who passed away, God rest his soul in peace, but about most of us. The truth is that doctors do not eat healthy, exercise, and use methods to relieve stress that they tell their patients to do. I am witness to meetings of doctors where fast food and dangerous food is consumed in large quantities and with relish. I know very few doctors who go to gyms or engage in outdoor activities that can be considered cardio exercises. I have set up a gymnasium in my department, which is never used by any resident doctor (poor people probably have no time and energy to exercise, I suppose) and by more than 90% of staff members (who have the time and energy, but probably not the desire). Perhaps they use other gyms or fitness centers, but no one looks fit and rearing to go, as they seem in the TV serials on doctors. I fill confidential history sheets of all employees in my department every year. There is a question about their health, and I have to state if their health is good, OK or bad. Since they do not have a health check up and submit the report to me any time, I have no method of knowing about it. I just say it is good, because I have no evidence that it is bad. Then one day one of them passes away suddenly and we retrospectively realize it was bad. I wish the institute takes the initiative and makes health check-ups compulsory. After all, a doctor passing away is a loss not only to his or her family, but also to the institute and to the society.
