Deepali Sinha, Amity Law School Patna
Introduction
The medical profession is one of the noblest professions on earth. Since time immemorial, medical professionals have been taking care of the ill and helping to brighten-up the world. Earlier, India had medical professionals trained in Ayurveda, which is a system of medicine based on lifestyle developed in India. In ancient India, lot of work was done in this field and there are books e.g., Sushruta, Samhita, Charaka, Samahita etc. dedicated to this field. Charaka is known as Indian Father of medicine and the following statement is attributed to him.
The word “doctor” is derived from Latin word “docere” which means to teach, and its roots can be traced in medieval times to specialists in theology, law and medicine. The medical doctor is one who practices medicine and is concerned with promoting, maintaining and restoring health. For this doctor require scientific knowledge and understanding and use of studies, diagnosis and treatments of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments. Those who use these with courage, with humility, with wisdom and in accordance with medical ethics provide a unique service to their fellowmen and women and build an enduring edifice of character within them.
For a doctor, every patient is equal and with utmost honesty, he does his job without any difference of religion, race, caste, creed, gender or colour. Probably, this is the reason why doctors have been considered God at every level of perception and by every segment of the society. Also, according to the Indian Medical Council (Professional conduct, etiquette and Ethics Regulation), 2002 the prime object of the medical professionals is to render service to humanity; reward or financial gain is a subordinate consideration.
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