At the recently concluded centenary celebrations of the K. E. M. Hospital in Bombay, the living legend of medicine, Dr Farokh Erach Udwadia, delivered an inspiring oration on "The changing face of medicine.”
Dr Farokh Udwadia: living legend of medicine
Udwadia bemoaned the transformation of medicine from an art into a technical science. He correctly mourned the lack of ability of the modern-day physician to take a detailed case history, examine a patient thoroughly and make a diagnosis based on his observations, aided often with instinctual insight, in order to heal the patient without a plethora of investigations. He did not belittle the progress made by science and technology, recognizing them as important adjuncts to aiding the physician in diagnosis and treatment. But he was saddened by the extreme dependence and resultant overuse of technological tools by the doctors of today, to the detriment of their innate diagnostic skills.
Udwadia rightly deprecated the general lack of empathy and morality of medical practitioners today. He deplored the lack of bonds of trust between the patient and physician as also the loss of respect for the medical profession as a whole due to the commercialization of the practice of medicine.
Udwadia’s oration dealt with the changing face of medicine from the middle of the last century to date. It was indeed a treat to hear his views on the subject and I would strongly urge that his talk be viewed by all, not just medical practitioners. It is available for viewing on YouTube.
Once again, the multifaceted Udwadia has enriched us with his enlightened views on both medicine and life.
Dr SORAB J. SIDHVA
drsjsidhva@gmail.com