Indian Doctors Kill Boy
With the growing number of Indian medical professionals insinuated into the US healthcare industry I believe its vital to the health and safety of our people to further evaluate whether or not Indian medical schools are providing the appropriate medical training – both in technical skills and in medical ethics. See below:
MUMBAI, Oct 12 (Reuters) – An Indian couple has been charged with murder of one of their sons after they tried to transfuse his blood into his elder brother to make him smarter, a newspaper reported on Friday.
The Indian Express newspaper said the couple were both doctors and the mother had a dream in which a guru advised blood transfusion to make their elder son do better at his studies.
Police said the couple initially claimed the 11-year-old boy was killed in an attack on the family, but later the father confessed.
“If there were any outside attackers they would not have attacked using surgical instruments,” police official Hanif Quereshi was quoted as saying by the daily. The father has been remanded in police custody and the mother is receiving psychiatric treatment after attempting suicide.
Their elder son in fighting for life in a hospital in the western town of Rohtak.
Alright, let’s start with what happened to performing a Type & Screen before transfusing blood between patients? Type & Screen procedures confirm both that blood types of donor and recipient match and that no conflicting antigens are found in the patients’ blood serum. This is a very basic medical procedure that every Western doctor would automatically have performed.
Let’s move on to who in the 21st century would believe that a blood transfusion would improve the recipient’s intellect? The very idea of performing such ill informed medical experiments on anyone boggles my mind. Performing them on children goes beyond the realm of crass stupidity and into the realms previously reserved for Dr. Mengele.
Finally, who would do such a thing because they or their spouse had a dream where a guru told them to do so? Were these two insane criminals examples of Indian doctors or examples of Indian witchdoctors?
If this is a sample of what a pair of supposedly trained and licensed Indian physicians are capable of doing, I think it’s definitely past time for the US to carefully review the credentials, skills and ethics of every Indian trained doctor currently practicing within our borders.
Tags: Ethics & Morality | India | Medical Practice | Rants
October 12th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Iām abhorred over this story; however, if I may play devilās advocateā¦is it fair to call into question an entire group of doctors from one country simply based upon two quack doctors who are seemingly operating out of spiritualism rather than medical science? (The Indian doctors I have known have been phenomenal, but Iām not basing my questioning on that.) To call for the review of individualās credentials based upon the actions of two doctors seems to be a bit overarching ā were they really untrained or did they choose to ignore their training in favor of following a guru and dreams? It would seem we would have to know the standards for Indian medical schools before we could determine whether all those trained within are questionable ā it seems the real questioning should be what are the credentials of Indian medical schools and were these doctors operating in accordance with the methods and teaching of those schools or did they diverge?
Thanks for posting, Jonolon. I appreciate the intellectual stimulation your blog provides.
October 12th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Christy,
Since there are a limited number of medical schools in India I think it’s fair to question all of the Indian doctors. Medical schools are supposed to turn out competent, ethical medical personnel, not twisted witchdoctors. I agree that a careful study of India’s medical schools and licensing board is a necessary first step.
I believe that it’s critical important to review the training and professional standards of all immigrants who seek skilled employment in the US. I run into substandard immigrant personnel on a regular basis in IT depts.
October 12th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Jonolan,
I agree, medical schools are supposed to turn out competent, ethical medical personnel, not twisted witchdoctors. However, does it stand to reason that the whole be judged by the few? I hope not. Do we know that these āwitchdoctorsā were produced by a medical school or are they an aberration? Iām not sure Iāve seen sufficient evidence to suggest their behavior is a result of their training or as opposed to personal immorality and insanity. It could very well be that they were insufficiently trained, and are competent, moral individuals who were simply operating out of naĆÆvetĆ© and ignorance or it could be they subjected themselves to parting from their training in light of spiritualism ā that the latter trumped the former.
If an inquiry into Indian medical schools reveals a substandard level of training and licensing, then action certainly needs to be taken. And I agree that anyone seeking skilled employment within the U.S., immigrant or not, should be subjected to the same training and professional standards. However, I would proffer that this isnāt necessarily a question of competency of medical schools (though it may be) but rather of individuals. U.S. medical schools have also produced some incompetent, ethically immoral medical personnel. If a review of any countryās medical schools and licensing board reveals a deficiency, then by all means, we need to act accordingly. So I guess after reading your post, Iām left with a questioning of whether itās Indiaās medical schools, these two individuals, or both who are at fault.
October 12th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Christy,
India does require doctors to be licensed, which requires graduating medical school, so they were produced by one of those schools. I do not think this gives cause to judge the whole by the few, but it does point out that their may be a problem. Think of it as probable cause sufficient to permit an investigation.
I must point out that the horrific departure in question from modern medical practice itself calls into question the quality of their training. How can any modern medical professional think that a blood transfusion will improve someone’s grades? A Western doctor might do something as heinous, but it would be either a deliberate act of cruelty or would be based in proven scientific theory.
October 12th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Jonolan,
Iām wondering if there is a missing premise involved here involving their worldview/religious beliefs and how that affects their actions/decisions. Christian Science adherents refuse blood transfusions; a person could graduate from medical school, be properly trained according to modern medical practices, convert to Christian Science and thus make medical decisions influenced by their religious beliefs ā decisions not based upon their training. Iām wondering if the same might be applied here ā what were these individualsā medical training and what part of their spiritual/religious beliefs trumped their training?
I clearly have no knowledge regarding the standards of Indiaās medical schools and Iām not defending them; Iām just pointing out that it may have nothing to do with their training and everything to do with these people personally. Simply having knowledge doesnāt mean one practices wisdom or discernment in using (or not using) that knowledge.
October 12th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Hey! Are you allowed to link in *my* comment?! š
November 4th, 2007 at 5:15 am
Unfortunately cases like these are not rare. I do agree that all doctors, whether Indian or not, should be properly screened before being allowed into your country. What this story demonstrates, however, is that people can be influenced by their religion to put aside their rationality. Yes, this was a blatant case of incompetence, but who’s to say it might not happen to a very superstitious doctor anywhere in the world.
November 4th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Very true, Nabiha.