A doctor’s job is to save lives; it does not matter where the doctor or the patient is from. The doctors take a Hippocratic oath in which they pledge to save their patient’s life to the best of their knowledge and ability, save the patient’s privacy and teach the secrets of medicine to the next generation. But patients may not reciprocate the doctor’s efforts with respect and this is exactly what happened in Scotland.
This situation took place in Glasgow, Scotland when a patient demanded that he will not get treated by an Asian doctor. All hell broke loose at this request of the patient. The receptionist could not think for a second there but she had the perfect response for the patient.
When the receptionist gave the patient an appointment card she added that the doctor is Scottish. The patient seemed confused and added that she does not look like one. The receptionist enquired how do Scottish people look like? To which the patient had no answer and quietly accepted the appointment card from the receptionist. He did not even question the nationality of the doctor after that.
Patient “I don’t want an Asian doctor”
Receptionist “she is Scottish”
Patient “she doesn’t look Scottish.”
Receptionist “what do Scottish people look like?”
Silence. Appointment card taken. So proud of my team 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽#endracisim #equalitydiversityandinclusion
— 𝙳𝚛 𝙿𝚞𝚗𝚊𝚖 𝙺𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚗 (@DrPunamKrishan) January 15, 2019
Dr. Punam Krishnan overheard the conversation between the receptionist and the patient. She was both upset by the patient’s request and overwhelmed with receptionist’s response. She shared the conversation and how the receptionist handled the situation on Twitter. The tweet gained a lot of attention to 92,000 likes and shares. The sad part is that many people can relate to the same situation, but all of them praised how well the receptionist handled the situation.
Many people reacted to the tweet and shared their encounters with such people. While one shared her personal experience of working with an Asian doctor. The person was working for an Asian doctor when he felt uncomfortable and was sick to the stomach. His employer aka the Asian general physician listened to him with patience and did a check upon him. Later they found out that he had prostate cancer. Thanks to his doctor that he is now fine and on some regular medicines.
Got to love my Indian GP. I went to see her about feeling a bit uncomfortable in my gut. She listened & took me seriously. A prostate cancer diagnosis followed. 5 weeks later after my op, I'm on the mend. Thanks to her. And people like you.👍
— Kevin Patrick 🔶 (@KevinPatrick7) January 15, 2019
People all over shared their experiences on racism and shared their stories on how they have to face problems due to nationality. With a world that is changing and growing in exponential terms, people sure have very narrow thinking. People need to outgrow themselves from the concepts of caste, color, gender, nationality to live a life filled with peace and harmony.
The disease does not pick a person based on caste, color, creed, and gender so why should humans still live in that mindset and regulations. Together we should take steps towards equality and a better world.
