Dronas and Nightingales

I happen to read this article on NY Times about Doctors and Professors. For those of you who have not read this article please visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/27/business/27richer.html?em&ex=1164949200&en=1274fa49c23b112c&ei=5087%0A

The crux of the article is how the lure for wealth affects our career choice. I happen to forward this to this to my Professor at the Business School with an idea to pick his brains. Here is the response from him.

Dear Chandra,
I also enjoyed this article. I feel that a medical person who moves to a profession where he/she can use his/her medical skills is all right, because I think he/she would not be a very good doctor anyway even though they are bright, intelligent people. A doctor needs to be someone who has deep compassion for humanity and able to comfort people not only medically but also with feelings and understanding. Those who leave the profession for lucrative salaries in other professions are not this type person.
Take care.
Best wishes.
Clay V. Sink

A few of the points he brought out from the article really hit me hard. Here are my thoughts and my reply to him.

Dear Sir:
You made a nice point and you hit the nail on the issue. Both teaching and nursing are professions for people with a servicing soul and willing to share with and sacrifice for the society. While people can choose to change professions with the piling up more cash and sit on tall bank balances but only a few give back to the society. We need people of both kinds one who can contribute monetarily and one who can serve physically. Everybody can’t sit on top of the palanquin since we need people to carry the palanquin.

Slapping lawsuits has become a norm in the society today. Gone is the time when American public went behind big corporations, today the same fervor is reflected in every profession. Newsweek in December of 2003 ran a cover story titled, “Lawsuit Hell – How fear of litigation is paralyzing our profession”. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3660738/)
This article talks about how Doctors, Teachers, Coaches and Ministers live with a fear of fighting wars in court rooms. Is it because of the small rope of patience that American hold and they sue at slightest provocation?

If you look back at the old Gurukula style (residential) of teaching in India, the student resides with their teacher for 10-12 years. Students help their teacher in his daily chores, collecting firewood, and pay their dues only through service. He not only learns imbibes the much sought book knowledge but also gets practically exposed to the right way of living with values and ethics. Gurus accepted small contribution as dakshina, but their needs were met by the King. But today the education system in the West is all about cash and carry and here in India the Engineering and Medical colleges fleece and capitation is the proof of the pudding. When these folks get out of college their ambition to repay and sit on stash of cash is more powerful than service the community. This throws open a big area for debate if these institutions make the right kind of citizens and are they giving us an opportunity to live with values and ethics? Does our society provide the opportunity to service the community?

The Capitalistic society has pushed people towards materialistic pursuits and the word service is slowly becoming obsolete. US universities have made education a perfect business model and that is the reason today Teachers don’t command much respect amongst the student community. I have witnessed this during my Masters education in the US. Students attend the classes at their convenience and walk in with an “I am paying to get educated” attitude. They put their legs up on the table and munch chips and sip Coke during the class hours. Teachers seem to be more worried about their feedback and tenure rather than their students. Is the education system setting the right values today? Are they making the right kind of citizens?

Education has got a commodity status and people are ready to buy them for a price and as a result they don’t pay due respects to their teachers, who I consider the pillars of the society. I am not against getting quality education in the school, but it should scare the professors from disciplining students worrying about their employment contract.

Same argument can be extended to Health Care. We have heard and read about Florence Nightingale who lived to care for the war victims, but have we come across anyone during the recent past doing that kind of a selfless service? May be there are a few people in the World but we seldom get to read or hear. Doctors in America carry Malpractice insurance to cover them incase of negligence, but in most cases they are not at fault.

Teaching and Nursing are the only two Nobel professions rest of them is like selling time and skills for money. Teachers nourish and grow the soul in the right way and the Doctors nurse the wounded soul and make them heal and recover faster. Parents and students paying huge sums of money for education are more inclined to pay back their debts more than servicing the community.

A recent survey conducted in July 2006 by Harris County Medical Society says that Doctors and Teachers Most Trusted Among 22 Occupations and professions in America.
85% of American public trust their Doctors and 83% trust their Teachers. This shows that American public has more faith on Doctors and Teachers more than their President.
The public seem to assured by the pillars of this society. But this doesn’t mean that folks in these professions are absolutely spotless or live outside the courtroom. Indian public has not failed to reprimand Doctors for their negligence and Teachers for crossing the Lakshman Rekha and getting physically involved with their students.

In this world where success is measured in terms of fame and fortune there is little room for service. Even for those who want to do Selfless service the society is just not providing the right ambience. India is the only country that honors Teachers and celebrates Teachers Day. A country where Ekalavya gave his index finger as Guru Dakshina that is the kind of allegiance that we hold towards Guru and teaching profession. While the Capitalistic West has successfully converted 365 to celebrate watch day of the year for a cause and a reason more to market Gifts, cards and other paraphernalia celebrates.

Today there is shortage of Teachers, Nurses and Doctors in America. We live more in a virtual world more than the real world. Not only are jobs outsourced to India but also case sheets are written and diagnosing done by Indian doctors. Home works and term papers are done overseas and Indian professors teach in virtual classrooms. The world has shrunk so has our minds.

While the American public faces the question of making these professions friendlier and less in court room a different kind of battle needs to be fought in India. In a country like India where birth based reservations is strictly followed in colleges and government jobs, we need to give opportunity to people who want to join the nursing and teaching profession with a servicing attitude. It is a big question in front of our society today how to make these professions less glamorous and more service oriented and how fight battles in classrooms and operation theatres rather than courtrooms. The world needs more Nightingales and Dronacharyas.

With Respect
Chandra