Choosing a career of dedication, not prestige
Many of us, surely, must grieve when those who choose careers that require dedication and caring, do so only with prestige and profit in mind. (Do you remember that advert 'Become a barrister. It is not a career. It is a life-style!'?) I have marked scores of teenagers' essays on 'My ideal career', in which they claim they want to be doctors but never mention once the response to human need but harp on about how 'honourable' the job is and how much 'respect' they will get….
In the light of the 5,731 vacant posts for doctors across the country, is it not tempting to recommend the practice of Soviet Russia of making it compulsory for younger doctors who have received their training at the expense of the state, to serve 2 years in the villages or refund the cost of training? The same rule could also apply to teachers perhaps? After all, the drift to the cities is accelerated by the failure of education and health services in some villages. Women doctors and teachers could surely also have compulsory placements in the more needy areas with carefully chosen accommodation …. Why should it be NGO and development workers, from other countries as well as Bangladesh, who are the only ones to accept a simple life to help Bangladesh? I had 2 ½ years up on the border in a place with no piped water but six years in a top English public school in the 1950s was excellent preparation for simple living in Bangladesh! And I had enough coal for one evening of extra warmth every second day for the first of six years at Oxford!)
Some young doctors from middle-class homes, who have had to see, at first hand, the suffering of the poor from neglected parts of their home countries, have had a life-changing experience. Also, if they are not good doctors (the poor usually being shrewd judges of efficient care and genuine character) the feedback could be an invaluable indication of the need for further practice under supervision. Not all doctors are of the quality of at least one I know, who returns to his village every weekend…
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments