An Epistle to a Future Doctor

Dear Future Doctor,

Remember! Please remember! Remember that you can be a patient.

Remember the pain, the excruciating situation. The scramble to which someone's each and every chunk is incriminated. Remember the perplexing malady causing the writhing pain. Remember the consternation of diagnosis that can rip away someone's dreams from his life.

Remember the way you want yourself to be treated! Remember the agony of your loved ones, and that harrowing pain which sweeps across your soul. Remember that wait outside doctor's office with thousands of hopes you are clinging to.

Being a doctor is no less than a blessing. Not everyone is endowed with this power. Recognize yourself! Recognize the fire of struggle burning inside you. Utilize this fire to ignite the candle in others’ lives.

From the day you step in this field, your life will be filled with experiments and books. You will feel like a robot. But no! A heartless robot can never match you, a selfless person with a big heart that always cares for others.

Sometimes, the odds are against you. You feel yourself too packed up with books and the medico stuff. You feel that you have nothing of your own. But do try to think about others who dream of having a life like yours. There are people living such a miserable life that a life like yours is beyond their dreams. Even the worst day of your life might turn out to be the best day of someone else’s life.

The day you put on your white coat is the day you devote your life to others. This white coat is not just a sign of your pride but is a symbol of your commitment to humanity. Your duty is not for 5 or 6 hours. You have to be available for 24 hours, 1440 minutes and 86,400 seconds of the day for your patients.

As for my opinion, that oath even takes my breath away. It inculcates a new spirit in my soul. It gives the same excitement to my veins no matter how many times I hear it. It influences me so much that even my hands have started writing faster. Imagining my name with “Dr.” written before it gives me a ray of hope, sprinkling colors throughout my life once again.

That oath says:

"I, Dr., Solemnly pledge that I will sacrifice myself for the cause of humanity. I will serve everyone in all circumstances, doing my utmost to save humanity from death, by all means and as an instrumentation of Allah's will. I will serve everyone, near or far, virtuous or sinful, friend or enemy. I take this oath without any force and on my own."

It still gives me goosebumps and makes me feel my blood throbbing inside me.

Life... Life is fragile! It’s our belief. But a doctor can better others’ lives as a catalyst with his sincerity and with the consent of Allah Almighty. I reminisce my Father's words:

"The smile on your face can take away half of the pain that your patient is going through. You are not going to be a doctor to increase your bank balance. Rather, you are going to be a doctor to increase your original wealth which is “peace of soul”. Try to achieve this.”

So, being a doctor, feel your responsibility. Respect this profession. Be humble and try to feel others. This should be your utmost desire and this is your ultimate goal.

Aiman Tariq (Class of 2020)