MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT DOCTORS
- Madhukar Dama
- 10 hours ago
- 9 min read
In India, the doctor is often seen as part god, part engineer, part magician. Mothers touch their feet. Villagers carry hope across states to find them. City patients wait in silence, too afraid to ask questions. Their words, even if mumbled between two phone calls, are taken as final truth.
But that silence has become dangerous.
This list is not against doctors. It is for the people. For those who waited three hours to be seen for three minutes. For those who took medicines that created new problems. For those who feel something is wrong — but can’t put it into words. It is also for doctors who once dreamed of healing, but got trapped in targets, tokens, and titles.
To heal as a people, we must remove the fog around the white coat. We must stop worshipping, and start understanding. This doesn’t mean hating doctors. It means seeing them for what they are — human beings inside a rigid system.
It means remembering that healing is not bought, prescribed, or installed.
Healing is lived. Slowly. Truthfully. In your own breath, food, rhythm, and soil.
This list is not a complaint.
It is a mirror.
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1. “Doctors are healers.”
→ Many just manage symptoms. They are trained in disease control, not true healing. Healing takes time, lifestyle correction, emotional support—none of which fits into 5-minute appointments.
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2. “Doctors know everything about the body.”
→ They are taught mostly pathology (disease), not physiology (natural function). They often know little about natural digestion, detox, or sleep healing.
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3. “Doctors save lives.”
→ Often, it is your own immunity, rest, and food that saves you. Doctors may intervene during crisis but cannot give you health. They patch up, they don’t build up.
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4. “Doctors follow science.”
→ They follow medical protocols, which are shaped by pharma companies, medical boards, and legal fear. Real science includes questioning, evolving, and looking beyond medicine.
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5. “Doctors study more than anyone else.”
→ True for exam cramming. But most stop learning once practice starts. Many blindly follow what they were taught 15 years ago, never updating lifestyle knowledge.
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6. “Doctors don't make mistakes.”
→ Mistakes happen every day—wrong tests, wrong medicines, wrong diagnosis. But they are protected by status and system. Most mistakes are hidden under the tag of “complex case.”
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7. “A successful doctor is a good doctor.”
→ A busy, rich doctor may be overprescribing, overtesting, overcharging. Success often means system loyalty, not patient healing.
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8. “Doctors are always under pressure.”
→ Many are. But the pressure is often from loans, EMIs, status upkeep. The emotional burden of truly listening to patients is rare—because it's mostly avoided.
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9. “Private doctors are better than government doctors.”
→ Not always. Many government doctors are more sincere, grounded, and honest. Private hospitals push for profit, surgeries, and unnecessary scans.
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10. “If a doctor is polite, he is good.”
→ Sweet talk can cover up ignorance or laziness. Healing needs depth, not just manners. Some quiet, rough doctors know more but aren’t good at PR.
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11. “If a doctor is rude, it means they are honest.”
→ Not always. Some are rude because of ego, burnout, or superiority complex—not because they’re brilliant or real.
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12. “Only MBBS/MDs are real doctors.”
→ Traditional healers, naturopaths, even illiterate midwives have saved more lives in rural India than many city specialists.
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13. “A doctor’s prescription is always safe.”
→ Most medicines have side effects, many are unnecessary, and some are even harmful long-term. But very few doctors warn patients about them.
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14. “Doctors don't care about money.”
→ Many care a lot. Incentives from pharma companies, test labs, surgeries—they all exist and corrupt decisions.
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15. “Doctors don’t fall sick.”
→ Many are overweight, diabetic, stressed, or even addicted. Their own health is not proof of their knowledge. Some never follow their own advice.
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16. “Doctors love patients.”
→ Many love power, not people. Compassion fatigue is real. Patients are often treated like files or numbers.
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17. “If it’s expensive, it must be better.”
→ ₹1200 consultation doesn't mean truth. It just means air-conditioning, polished staff, and pressure to bill more.
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18. “They give medicine because it’s needed.”
→ Often, it’s given because the patient demands it, or they want to finish the case quickly, or the system expects quick fixes.
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19. “Specialists know more.”
→ They know more about one narrow part of the body, but often miss the whole picture. They may miss emotional, digestive, or lifestyle causes.
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20. “You must follow exactly what the doctor says.”
→ You can question, research, pause, or even say no. It’s your body. You are not disobedient for being careful.
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21. “A second opinion is disrespectful.”
→ It’s wise. The same reports often lead to different treatments by different doctors. Truth survives questioning.
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22. “Surgeries are done only if truly needed.”
→ Many surgeries are unnecessary. Knee replacements, gall bladder removals, hysterectomies, C-sections—done for fear, profit, or habit.
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23. “Doctors don’t judge.”
→ Many do. Especially if you’re poor, uneducated, fat, smoker, village woman, old, or not tech-savvy. Social bias enters clinical space.
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24. “Medical colleges teach everything.”
→ They teach what pharma-sponsored textbooks want. Food, fasting, breathwork, touch, or emotional trauma are mostly absent.
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25. “Doctors in white coats are clean.”
→ In India, even white coats may carry infections. Hospitals are often poorly sanitized. Clean-looking spaces don’t guarantee clean practices.
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26. “Medical tests are always required.”
→ Many are done to cover legal risks, to earn lab incentives, or to convince patients something is being done. Not all are essential.
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27. “Young doctors are more modern and updated.”
→ Many are more addicted to gadgets, protocols, and pharma-sponsored apps. They may lack old-school observation and listening skills.
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28. “Old doctors know everything.”
→ Many are outdated, stubborn, and arrogant. They may not be open to new lifestyle-based approaches or diet correction methods.
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29. “A doctor will tell you if they don’t know.”
→ Rarely. Many pretend confidence to avoid looking weak. Few say “I don’t know” honestly.
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30. “Only quacks talk against doctors.”
→ Many sincere ex-doctors, public health activists, and scientists critique the system out of conscience. They’re not frauds—they’re voices of reform.
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31. “The doctor’s clinic is the only place to heal.”
→ Healing also happens in your home, kitchen, farm, breath, relationships, rest, and faith. The clinic is just one stop.
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32. “The best doctor is the most popular.”
→ Often, popular doctors are expert time managers, not health experts. True healers may work quietly in slums or villages.
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33. “Your doctor knows your history.”
→ They often don’t remember anything after 3 minutes. Your record is your responsibility.
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34. “You are safe in a hospital.”
→ Hospitals carry risks: infection, overmedication, hospital-acquired diseases, stress, and unnecessary panic.
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35. “Your suffering will be respected.”
→ Many doctors interrupt, rush, ignore tears, or dismiss pain as “normal.” Being heard fully is rare.
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36. “It’s okay to hide symptoms from doctors.”
→ Many patients lie out of shame or fear. But doctors can’t help with half-truths. However, trust takes time, and most doctors don’t build it.
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37. “They always act in your best interest.”
→ Not always. They may act in the hospital’s interest, insurance limits, or their own comfort.
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38. “Doctors love learning.”
→ Most stop learning after exams. Few read research or attend training unless forced. Curiosity fades once the title is earned.
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39. “Doctors will treat you like a person.”
→ Many see a “case,” not a person. Your story, your fears, your background—ignored unless you insist.
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40. “Being a doctor means being ethical.”
→ It’s a profession, not sainthood. Ethics is personal. Some cheat, some lie, some exploit—just like in any other field.
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Epilogue
“Take Back the Responsibility of Your Body”
A doctor can assist. A doctor can suggest.
But no doctor can feel for you. No doctor can sleep for you. No doctor can digest for you.
You must be the one to listen to your body, question your patterns, and take slow, patient charge of your recovery.
When you stop blindly depending, you start clearly observing.
When you stop outsourcing your pain, you begin owning your strength.
This truth is not about rebellion.
It is about maturity.
There are still many sincere doctors in India. They work in villages, small clinics, public hospitals. They speak softly, think slowly, and don’t rush to medicate. Some get insulted for not acting like flashy consultants. Some burn out quietly. Respect them. Work with them.
But above all — don’t forget this:
You are the primary caretaker of your own body.
The doctor is just a visitor.
You are the home.
White Coat, Blindfold
A slow-burn poem for the believer, the betrayed, and the still breathing.
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they said he’s a doctor,
so I folded my hands,
took off my slippers,
and stepped into the air-conditioned temple
with two hundred rupees in my fist
and a swelling in my gut.
he didn’t look up.
scribbled four pills
like a priest giving me prasad
without the ceremony,
without the bhakti,
without the time.
and I nodded.
like my father nodded.
like my neighbour nodded.
like that poor boy from Dharwad whose father sold land
for one MRI and two months of injections
that made his legs weaker.
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you don’t talk to God.
you swallow.
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I thought they studied the whole body.
but they studied diseases.
they know which organ to shut up,
which chemical to block,
which number to lower.
they never asked me
what I eat,
how I sleep,
what broke my spirit last winter.
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they carry white coats like halos,
but beneath it
they are tired, overworked,
chasing EMIs,
trapped between reputation and resignation,
swallowing stress like patients swallow paracetamol.
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they said “don’t go to quacks.”
but the one who rubbed warm oil on my back
and told me to sit in the sun
listened to me longer than any stethoscope ever did.
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they said “only MBBS can save you.”
but it was my own saliva,
my grandmother’s fermented rice,
the sleep I finally allowed myself
that stitched me back together.
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there are good doctors, I know.
I’ve seen them:
in broken slippers,
in village PHCs,
reading patient files at 11 PM
without billing anyone.
but I’ve also seen
prescriptions written before I finished speaking,
lab tests ordered because the hospital needs revenue,
C-sections done because the baby didn’t come in time for lunch.
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the pharma guy comes in with a smile,
hands a box of samples,
a plastic tray,
a bottle of imported coffee.
the doctor doesn’t say no.
why would he?
he’s just part of the machinery.
not evil.
not holy.
just turning the same tired gears
inside a system that punishes slowness
and rewards submission.
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your pain is a “case.”
your tears are “hormonal.”
your story is too long
for a clinic with 30 chairs and one impatient nurse.
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you think they’ll remember you?
they don’t.
you’re a file.
a bed number.
a sugar level.
a “F/U in 15 days” written in corner script.
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you think they know nutrition?
ask them what you should eat.
they’ll say “normal diet.”
they don’t know what grows in your backyard,
what ghee does to joints,
what jaggery does to the soul.
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and yet, you bow.
because fear smells like Dettol,
and desperation wears a mask.
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every uncle tells you
“go to a big doctor.”
every WhatsApp group has one number
they all swear by.
but healing is never loud.
it’s in walking barefoot on wet earth.
it’s in the belch after kanji.
it’s in the warmth of your child’s laughter
after two nights of uninterrupted sleep.
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but you’re told you’re wrong.
you’re told you’re unscientific.
you’re told you’ll die if you don’t take the pink tablet.
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and so, millions obey.
in silence.
in panic.
in the smell of clinic chairs
and the rustle of foil packs.
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but slowly,
some are waking up.
they ask
why so many surgeries?
why am I not getting better?
why do medicines bring new problems?
they begin to track their own body.
they begin to say,
“wait.”
“why?”
“no.”
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and somewhere in a dusty village,
a doctor with no degree
grinds leaves with a stone
and tells the boy,
“this will help,
but only if your mother stops feeding you chips.”
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real healing takes time.
takes walking away from machines.
takes touch, food, silence,
and the courage to listen
to your own damn body.
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not all doctors lie.
but most
don’t have time
to tell you the truth.
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you were not broken.
you were rushed.
you were never told
that health is not a service
but a way of life.
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the white coat is not evil.
but it is not a halo.
and if you worship it blindly,
you’ll never see
that healing lives in your kitchen,
your sleep,
your hands,
your patience.
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you are not a case.
you are not a bill.
you are not a report.
you are a person
with the right to know,
to pause,
to heal.
take it back.
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