On the occasion of Doctors’ Day, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) released a survey report that says about 82.7% of doctors in India feel stressed out in their profession. Fear of violence was found to be the main stressor (46.3%), followed by fear of being sued (24.2%) and fear of criminal prosecution (13.7%).
The anxiety of doctors over issues plaguing the profession is evident by the fact that about 56 per cent don’t get a comfortable seven-hour sleep most days of the week. Another study conducted by IMA showed that patients expect their doctors to be courteous. Almost 90% patients want their doctors to introduce themselves to patients, acknowledge them, give them a patient listening, impart complete information about the diagnosis, investigations and treatment, and revise and review what the patient has understood.
About 40 per cent patients said that the doctor should thank them for having given them an opportunity to treat. So, stay AlERT (acknowledge, listen, explain, revise, thank) the patient.