Even before I am narrating this incident, I can tell that a lot of our viewers will be able to identify with the profound truth that underlies this story. When I was growing up in the seventies in the Phillippines, in our neighborhood, we had two doctors- Dr. Santiago and Dr. Santos, who had set up their medical practice in the sixties. Both the doctors were in their mid-forties, and in our part of the town, just about everyone went to them in case of any medical emergencies, which arose despite the ladies in the community saying, ‘God forbid’ on every matter concerning health. Being a resident of a working-class background, I too visited them in times, it was not working normally for me. Life has its own way of teaching you lessons, if you are alive to the possibilities of it. Fortunately, I was of the age, in which Life’s distractions had still not crept into my soul.

Both of these doctors were well-qualified medical professionals, who had qualified from the same Medical college in Manila, in the same year. Someone also told my father that they were relatives to each other as well. With that much in common, there was one thing that separated them like butter and margarine. It was the way they conducted themselves with the patients visiting them. Well, in terms of competence, none of them was ever a shade less than the other, if there is such a thing possible nor was there any sign of lack of commitment on their Hippocratic oath. Neither of them ever appeared to be money-minded either. Despite all this background, I have personally witnessed that Dr. Santos had his medical clinic open till 11 pm whereas, Dr. Santiago could be seen shuttering off his establishment by 8 pm even though they both came for work at the same time of 5 pm in the evening, after attending to their morning duties in the St. Ignatius Medical college. It was not until I had grown up as a young adult that I realized the major difference was in how they treated their patients. While Dr. Santiago was a thoroughbred non-nonsense professional who would examine his patients so painstakingly that lines of stress never left his forehead. On the contrary, Dr. Santos was a portly jolly fellow who had a wise quip or a clever remark for every situation. He healed his patients through their own laughter and his medicines. The result was that most of the people in the community went to him for seeking respite both from their situation and to escape the stress that comes with living in a working- class neighborhood.

Imagine what a light-hearted comment can do to your profession because if you do, you might as well get trained to eat your competition for your breakfast.

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