During second year MD, we often stray outside the boundaries of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. One day I took up Braunwald Cardiology. Almost by chance, I noticed the author’s name - Eugene Braunwald, MD. The man was very influential in Cardiology, yet his name carried just one degree. MD. Truth be told, his name is so synonymous with Cardiology that he doesn’t even need to put that MD after his name. Same can be said about the authors of Harrison’s.
It was then that I realized Indians are obsessed with degrees. Chances are you have seen doctors, whose degrees (and sometimes dubious fellowships or memberships ) are longer than their names. It’s not wrong to aspire to have the entire alphabet after ones name… However it becomes a problem when we look down on those that don’t have as many letters as we do.
It’s sad that among all professional branches, the only one which degrades its undergraduation by prefixing it with the word “just” is medicine. This is despite MBBS being tougher than most other kinds of professional undergrad degrees.
Doctors, must realize that lack of an extra degree doesn’t always mean lack of ambition or intelligence. It could be lack of opportunity. Or a thousand other reasons.
Change, like charity, begins at home.
Let’s stop saying “just” MBBS.
© Karthik Balachandran