The Good Doctor

Being a doctor was not easy for Peter. Doctor Peter attending to every person brought in, Doctor Peter diagnosing ailments of the people brought in and Doctor Peter taking a round and checking on the patients at the end of the day. Being a doctor was not easy but Peter enjoyed being a doctor. Whenever he used to walk on the rounds, people used to look at him with eyes of gratitude. People used to call him 'Doctor Sahib'. They looked up to him whenever someone in their family fell ill. They knew he can treat anyone. They had faith in him. He was a good doctor. All this respect and faith, filled in him an air of confidence. That soon gave way to his pride. Soon, he became the 'God' in his mind. Being God and thinking oneself to be God are two different things. That made all the difference.

One day, while taking blood from a patient for testing his blood, Peter mistakenly used a used-syringe instead of the new one. When the nurse saw this and told him, it was late. The syringe was already inside the body. Peter asked the nurse to be mum about it. He assured her it would make no difference. But no sooner was the man discharged from the hospital than he came up. He alleged that he contracted AIDS because of the hospital's negligence. He knew that he was not in contact with any person having AIDS. It was a mistake on the part of the hospital. Peter threatened the nurse to say anything on that matter...

Dejected, the man took the matter to the court. Because of the case, the hospital was getting defamed. The management suspended all the doctors, nurses, and janitors that attended the man. This made the nurse speak up to the management of Peter's mistake. Sensing his job at stake, Doctor Peter realized that accepting a mistake doesn't make anyone small. Doctors are humans too and humans err. It is acceptable to acknowledge the mistake but not to blame anyone else for it.

He then went to the man's home and begged his forgiveness. He accepted his mistake and told the man of his earlier fear of losing his job. But now, his job was at stake already which made him realize how grave a mistake it was. Peter told the man that he will accept his mistake in front of the world the next day. But the man took Peter's hand in his and said, "Doctor Sahib. It would make no difference to me." He told Peter that his acceptance in front of the world would not rid him of the disease. He then asked him not to do so as that might ruin his career. He also promised to take back the case and added, "We had faith in you. But we got shattered after knowing the truth from the media. I didn't want to ruin you. I just wanted you to accept your mistake. Because doctors are humans too. Accepting his mistake is what makes a good doctor."