Deyang Nyandak. Image: Aaron Washington
This essay was written for the 2017-2018 HMS Dean's Report in answer to the question "What is the promise of medicine to me?"
As a young child growing up in a Tibetan refugee community in India, I had exposure to more educational opportunities compared to my counterparts. My father understood the importance of the English language and made sure to buy me as many books as our financial circumstances would allow. My mother worked as a librarian at a Tibetan traditional medical school, which meant I had access to multiple encyclopedias, Tibetan literature, journals, etc.
Regardless of the advancements made in medicine, it is the compassion and kindness that will be constant.
For me, however, the most important book of all was titled, Where There is No Doctor. It was a text written in simple English with multiple black and white images, and it explained the management of common ailments found in rural India. I was intrigued by the contents of the book because it not only introduced me to various pathologies, it taught me that these pathologies can be managed, even in a setting of limited resources.
As I grew older, I became more aware of the degree of poor access to health care and poor health literacy in our own community. My grandparents owned a small store and would sleep in a room that was initially meant to be a storage area. One night, after the store was closed, a man knocked on the door. His wife had just given birth, he said, and he asked if we had anything she might need. I was only around 10 at the time, and it felt like he had as much idea about postpartum care as I did. My grandmother suggested that his wife might need some sanitary napkins, and he left with a handful of the product.
While my father served as the minister of health in the Tibetan government in exile, we had conversations about access to health care for Tibetan refugees. He was saddened by the lack of health care providers, especially physicians, in various Tibetan settlements. Although we had physicians trained in Tibetan traditional medicine, the extent of care that the limited number of doctors could provide was inadequate for modern diseases. Therefore, I was inspired to train in medicine and work to serve individuals who do not have proper access to health care.
Finally, we as health care providers are motivated to decrease the pain of others and not only to prolong but improve their quality of life. Regardless of the advancements made in medicine, it is the compassion and kindness that will be constant. Therefore, the promise of medicine, for me, is the promise of humanity.
