Doctors should focus on quality rather than quantity

Editor-Last month's article "Can medical students learn empathy at the movies?" reminds me of the film starring Robin Williams, which was inspired by a real life hero.¹ The film dealt with medicine not as just a science of treating but of healing and bringing joy and laughter to people. The Hindi movie Munnabhai MBBS released last year (and reviewed in the studentBMJ²) is another film that makes the same point.

We tend to forget the real reason why we are in this profession as we get caught in schedules, shifts, and moving from one bed to the next in the wards. Such films bring back the real perspective that we lose as we drown ourselves in the vast sea of knowledge, technology, and competence. The loser is the patient, who is met with the cold and aloof attitude of the overworked doctor. The real success of a doctor is not in the number of patients they treat but in the amount of care or joy that is brought to the patient. As Patch Adams would probably say, "Any place that serves breakfast in bed is not likely to be so bad."

Aarti Sardana, house officer, Medical College, Baroda, India
Email: aartisardana@rediffmail.com


studentBMJ 2005;13:45-88 February ISSN 0966-6494

1. Dobson R. Can medical students learn empathy at the movies? studentBMJ 2005;13:4. (January.)
2. Pai S. Munnabhai MBBS. studentBMJ 2004;12:217.