A good doctor
Faruk Ahmed, Thailand
My daughter had to go through an eye surgery when she was two years old in 2005. After discussing with the child ophthalmologist, Dr. Sorot Wutthiphan, we scheduled the surgery date. She was, probably in her early 40s, not very senior in age. We, the young parents, were very nervous as the operation required full anesthesia. Due to going through extreme anxiety, many questions appeared in our mind. Is the doctor (ophthalmologist) competent enough? Can a baby tolerate full anesthesia? etc.Thanks to the Internet, we got all the information there to keep our mind away from unwarranted fear. We were amazed when we read about the doctor on the Internet. We found some excerpts of her publications, some interviews with the print media, her profile in the hospital's website and her active participation in discussion forums of child ophthalmologists etc. One of her messages in a discussion forum gave me a great sense of respect to a doctor which I have never felt so strongly. She wrote about one of her patient's post surgery treatment. She sought suggestions from other ophthalmologists on the message board to find a cost-effective solution for her patient. Part of her message was, "....as you know Thailand is in economic recession, it's hard for the parents to spend the necessary amount. I am looking for any alternate..." It was great to know that a doctor used the Internet to communicate with other doctors around the world for a better solution back in 1997, the year when a handful of people used the Internet even in the developed countries. She understood the importance of sharing knowledge via the web in 1997, which is very unusual in our country. I was amazed when I learned a doctor's concern was to reduce expenses of the parents. Later, I visited many other doctors in Thailand with my family, relatives, and friends from Bangladesh. They truly care for their patients. They examine a patient as long as necessary. For instance, I visited a famous neurologist here with my relative from Bangladesh and the first visit took more than an hour! The patient has fully recovered after a couple of examinations, some instructions to follow and without a single drop of medicine! The same patient had visited a few famous doctors in Dhaka before she came here. She complained the doctors had started writing their prescriptions immediately after asking a few questions. Undoubtedly, physicians are skilled in our country. We have adequate medical instruments in some private and public hospitals based in Dhaka. What we lack is "care".
|
|
