Teaching: Learning Humanities in a New Perspective

Teaching: Learning Humanities in a New Perspective

M. Salman Shah, Fatima Khan
Copyright: © 2013 |Pages: 7
DOI: 10.4018/ijudh.2013100112
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Abstract

Empathy, compassion and kindness are some of the virtues that often get ignored amidst the tough study schedule, through the entire professional course. This is where a medical student loses those virtues and compassion for humanity that on the first instance obligated him to join this stream of medicine, despite the odds. The medical humanities can have both instrumental and non-instrumental functions in a medical school curriculum. The instrumental functions are met through the different aspect of their curriculum but there is little room for non-instrumental functions. This article deals with the unique way of teaching learning humanities by means of an organization that was conceptualized and is being nurtured and managed by the medical students for the welfare of the patients and communities but what makes the organization unique in itself is in a sense that it is run by medical students, it teaches budding healers how to be a good human being with concern for society especially underprivileged section of society.
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Drug society is very special organization because it is not just a charity, there are thousands of charities with bigger budget but what is unique about drug society is that it is run by medical students, it teaches budding healers how to be a good human being with concern for society especially underprivileged section of society and not just money making machine. It very important in today’s capitalistic world where patients have become customers and doctors are becoming shop keepers, unfortunately we hear in media very often about kidney racket and female infanticide. I believe that a medical student who has donated his blood and money out of his small wallet to a stranger without any discrimination or consideration of cast, color or creed will never remove kidney from a poor patient for sale. I wish this beautiful flower blossoms forever. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.

In the words of Dr. Mudassir Rashid who has worked as head of the organization and currently working as as a Radiology Consultant, Melbourne, Australia, who says that

Working with drug society has always been a pleasure. I remember first time when I got in touch with the Drug Society, I was in second year of medical school. While in orthopaedics clinical rotation I saw a patient with osteomyelitis of right leg, who was ready to get his leg amputated because he couldn't afford 2000 rupees for a metallic fixator for bone lengthening. I wanted to help the poor soul and starting collecting money from my peers so that we can arrange the implant, and someone introduced me to the drug society.

Since then I came across several such cases where people were suffering because of non affordability of medication. We at drug Society were immensely blessed for helping such people. Every year we used to organise medical camps for poor communities. This experience helped me to grow personally and spiritually. Being doctors we need to be able to perform a large number of supererogatory actions. Working with drug society helps in building moral attitudes that provides the context for making these decisions, and which describe the sort of person a doctor needs to be.

As the problems in society arise, it is the duty of every individual to ease the burden by helping to solve these problems. Too often, we pass off that responsibility with the hope that others will pick up the slack. The problem is that too many shrug their responsibility leaving an insurmountable degree of perils.

Another member Dr. Babar Ahmad Suri who has worked actively for this organization and currently preparing for his postgraduate studies has his own views. Here this follows-

I joined DRUG SOCIETY in my first year of MBBS and I am still attached to it. What we gave to humanity through Drug Society can easily be felt by looking at the annual or monthly fund collections, its utilization data, number of patients covered or various other measures. But what the Drug Society gave us is unexplainable. One can only feel this feeling, the moment you see a cancer patient going home happily whose chemotherapy being arranged by you and funded by the Drug Society or a smile on a patient’s face who was previous hopeless due to his illness and poverty and you helped him to overcome this through the Drug Society. By the grace of Almighty, a few hundred or thousand rupees may not be a huge amount for you and me but believe me and you will see for yourself that there are people and their families for which this amount is a deciding factor whether to live or die.

The Drug Society not only helps others but it also helps you, the members, in many ways. With my experiences all I want say to my younger brothers and sisters is that if you are really sincere in this work process you’ll definitely find yourself more smart, honest, improved in self confidence, improved in communication skills in your life and top of all you’ll be more humble when you encounter downtrodden sections of society which is an essential quality of a doctor. I still remember the way the seniors used to guide me by appreciating and correcting my actions and thank them to give me a chance for serving an organization of such a nature.

Dr. Maaz Ozair currently pursuing post graduation in General Medicine reflects his association with the organization in his own way. He says

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