“So, tomorrow you’re going home?” I asked gently, turning to my patient—a 48-year-old woman fighting advanced breast cancer. The disease had spread to her liver and abdomen, leading to fluid buildup, and she had been admitted for an abdominal tap and basic blood work. Now, she was eager to return home.
She was frail, her body ravaged by illness. At just 30 kilograms, she was visibly emaciated, her muscles wasted to the point that even simple daily tasks required help. Getting out of bed, walking, climbing stairs—each was an ordeal.
“You’ll be taking a bus back to Chandrapur?” I asked, referring to her hometown, about 120 kilometers from Sevagram. For most patients from nearby towns, the bus is the default means of travel.
Before she could respond, her husband interjected. “No,” he said firmly. “I’ll take her home on our motorcycle.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise. “Why not take the bus? It’s a smoother journey—almost hourly service, and in just three hours, you’d be home comfortably.”
He explained patiently, his voice a mix of practicality and quiet concern. “We used to take the bus when she came here for chemotherapy and radiation. But now she’s too tired. The bus journey is exhausting—getting into an auto-rickshaw in Wardha, then walking a bit to reach the hospital. It’s too much for her. One day, she asked to try the motorcycle instead. She feels more relaxed and comfortable when I drive her home.”
I looked at them—he, determined and supportive; she, leaning on him in more ways than one. I could only smile.
As doctors, we rarely stop to ask where our patients come from, how they make a living, what their lives look like beyond the hospital walls. Too often, we rely on shortcuts—assessing socioeconomic status by glancing at a Below Poverty Line (BPL) card or the color of a ration card.
But beyond the labs, scans, biopsies, and medicines lie these everyday realities. And they matter. Patients and their families often carry burdens no medical report shows—like worries about travel , fears for the future, or the challenges of dealing with hospitals.
Taking a moment to ask, to listen, to truly connect—it’s a small gesture, but one that can mean the world to them.
We must talk with our patients, not at them. Only then can we truly see the human side of medicine.
So true sir! Where I work, it’s a low socio-economic patient population. I see kids till they are 21. Kids from all backgrounds, broken families, foster homes, abused kids, families with substance abuse, so on and so forth. Before going in to see each family, I tell myself, it’s a soul just like mine… in a different body, and it’s like that due to the circumstances that has made it to be. When I go, talk and listen with an unjudgemental, unbiased mind, the meeting is so much more productive. I get to connect better and not just teach but learn so much from each patient that I see. It’s so important to be human first
Wow !
This very all encompassing human aspect of medical care was,- as I still remember, and is imbibed in our psyche- the most prominent USP of MGIMS, 40 years ago ….
The buildings, the wards , the overall layout of the modern day MGIMS is beyond recognition today for we , the old alumni, ….
But the age old USP ( Selling is a misnomer actually, in case of MGIMS ! We should call it USSP – Unique Soul satisfying Proposition) still prevails, undiluted !!
💐💐💐💐💐🙏🙏🙏🙏
Yes,Sir ! It’s only the doctors like you can understand and bring out the every day reality of the patients and their loved ones !
Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.
The virtues of altruism, and benevolence are very important for health professionals.
1.Don’t treat the papers,treat the patient..2.Beyond your expensive injectables and big tablets,there’s one more thing that works miraculously and that is your “sense of touch” healing touch,our professors used to call this.. 3. The most important person in your consulting or your ward is your patient and not yourself..
These are few of the hundreds of one liners and teachings that we learnt at the medicine department of MGIMS which you can’t find in most of the textbooks.Some have,but usually ignored.
We were always taught looking at the broader picture and get outside the high powerfield of a microscope.. This kind of attitude can transform an individual’s life and the way they take on things.MGIMS not only imparts medical education,but value education as well!
This was your best write up ever!
Even as real patient centred medical education gradually reaches extinction, there are pockets of Wardha that are our only seeds of hope that could one day rise amidst the rubble of (fake it till you make it)simulation driven medical education.
Indeed Sir, that little bit of connect bring a world of solace to them. Feel so blessed to have trained in the the Department of Medicine , MGIMS Sevagram
Soo true sir. On daily basis we treat the disease. Don’t realise, how they managed to reach here. How will they stay for days without much money. How will they get back home.
Touching observations sir. 🙏
Awesome writing as always. I want to know from you regarding Tent Hospital attached with GMC, I had a good experience of about 10 days, Luckily. Never heard from anyone about its experience.
Indeed.. definitely something i learnt in sevagram and in the NHS .. patients never remember the medication the chemo the surgical plan.. they remember the kindness in the drs voice the time we took to explain to them, the nurse who listened made them a hot drink or spoke to their crying spouse .. drs go far beyond the illness .. and patients are much more than a disease
Very touching, this shows that you care.