A passionate letter to doctors to resume work
A passionate letter to doctors to resume work
It
was really heartrending to see the union officials of Kenya medical
practitioners pharmacist and dentist Union officials kneeling down at
oasis of miracles church seeking the divine intervention despite the
prevailing situation. I am writing this letter with a heavy heart,
requesting doctors to shelve their strike for the sake of Kenya and
instead put on their white coats of honour. Please Kenyan doctors go
back to your places of work. You have made a strong case. Money is not
everything but it is life. I was shocked by the journey some of you took
to reach where you are. You are our heroes. What doctors were being
paid during the time you were in school,you will be shocked, only
peanuts but they loved their job. Please love your job and remember the
Aids patients who need their medication,those who need oxygen,the
dialysis patients, those awaiting operations, pregnant women the sick in
our society and accident victims etc. You doctors yearned to heal,
cure, and save lives of children, women and the elderly in Kenya without
having to worry about your time. Doctors strive and live for knowledge
and healing. As Physician, you want to make a difference in Kenya where
people are suffering. There is lack of medicine and physicians in
developing parts of the world and in Kenya we have one doctor to 1,000
patients. When hawkers,residents and teachers go on strike, Kenyans ask
what are they agitating for? But when those who got real 'A' (original
ones) which Dr Matiangi calls the 'A' , we know that there is a problem
in Kenya. We need divine intervention. Please doctors,you treat the poor
in Kenyan hospitals and not the rich and now life expectancy in Kenya
may come down to 35 years as a result of not getting medical care.
Please doctors rescue your duties to save Kenya. Remember this oath you
took -"The Hippocratic oath" is an oath historically taken by
physicians. It is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts.
In its original form, it requires a new physician to swear, by a number
of healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards of historic and
traditional value, the oath is considered a rite of passage for
practitioners of medicine in many countries, although nowadays various
modernized versions are often used; the message delivered is still the
same, "Do no Harm."
Hippocratic
oath is often called the father of medicine in western culture 'I
swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:
I
will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose
steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who
are to follow.
I
will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are
required, avoiding those twin traps of over treatment and therapeutic
nihilism.
I
will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and
that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's
knife or the chemist's drug.
I
will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my
colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's
recovery.
I
will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not
disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread
with care in matters of life and death. Above all, I must not play at
God.
I
will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth,
but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and
economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems,
if I am to care adequately for the sick.
I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.
I
will remember that I remain a member of society, with special
obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body
as well as the infirm.
If
I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I
live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as
to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long
experience the joy of healing those who seek my help. l hope this letter
is a clarion call and it will melt your hearts for the love of Kenya
your country and its citizens and act accordingly. Long live doctors !!!
By
Veronica Onjoro
Mombasa
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