©️ Dr. Aparna Govil Bhasker

Dear people, every time I hold a knife in my hand to begin a surgery, I close my eyes and pray….

I pray that I am kind to you, who, lays in front of me, and I am as gentle as I can be,

I pray that my hands dont tremble as they sew, and I cause no pain & suffering to thee,

I pray that I always do right by ye, and dont waver in taking decisions taken by me,

I pray that I use my skills for your service and clarity doesn’t evade me,

I pray that my judgement may never be blurred and I may be blessed to win health from disease,

I pray that I have no fear and I can bring the light of life back from the darkness of death and that I do no harm in the process,

And at the end of it all, I pray that may God almighty give me strength to cope up, if things were not to go our way today.

Dr. Aparna Govil Bhasker

As doctors we confront disease and death on a daily basis. People think that we get used to death and loss over time. Unfortunately that is not true. Although we are advised from the beginning to cultivate detachment, it is not as easy as it sounds. Showing emotions is considered to be a sign of weakness, but most of us fail miserably when it comes to detaching our personal lives from professional life. There are many sleepless nights and some cases stay in our hearts forever. For years, we think about what we could have done differently to change the outcome. However, grief is not a luxury that we are granted as many more lives await our care and we have no other choice but to get back to work the next morning.

In reality, deep down most of us continue to mourn the losses much more than we can ever celebrate the daily victories. Eventually, this leads to emotional exhaustion and physician burn out. We need to break the professional taboo around expressing this unacknowledged grief. While we provide support groups for so many health issues, we also need to develop groups to support doctors and healthcare workers to help them overcome their daily stress and grief.

Dr. Aparna Govil Bhasker

At the last count, 573 doctors in India have lost their lives during #Covid19 pandemic. Doctors groups on social media carry new #obituaries everyday. And yet, the medical community continues to fight the battle not only against Covid 19 but also against the hundreds of pre existing diseases. In this fight between disease and death, there is only one wall and that is the healthcare community. There is a dire need to strengthen this wall in every aspect for if this wall falls, there can be no hope.

Unfortunately, today we are witnessing even more cases of violence against doctors. As much as it harms the medical community, ultimately it will prove to be more harmful for the society and its future generations.

While the medical community rises above all barriers and continues to answer the call of duty, all we ask for is a little bit of #compassion and understanding . We are together on this journey and ultimately there is only one thing that can get us all through and believe me, it is not a #vaccine…….. “It is #empathy”.

Dr. Aparna Govil Bhasker