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The horrific incident at state run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata has sparked conversations about safety of resident doctors and women overall in general. The brutal rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor at the hospital while on duty has raised many questions about the safety of women at their own workplace, especially those of female doctors who have to work long shifts at a stretch.
Many doctors have come forward to express how the environment can get dangerous for them, especially without any safety measures at place.
"I would avoid the doctor's room (which has beds for doctors to sleep) and would rather sit on a chair, lay my head down on a table, and then sleep because my response time that way is faster than sleeping in a lying down position," said 25-year-old Aditi to Andheriwestshitposting (an instagram account).
Similar stories were shared by others as well, describing the dire need of an infrastructural development in government run colleges.
Dalvi from Mumbai also shared how young nurses who often complete their education by the age of 20 are at greater risk because they are perceived as 'easy target'. However, Dalvi also shared the response of their HODs if they ever complained about something. "We faced this back in our times, why can you not do the same," the Andheriwestshitposting post further read.
"Not a great time to be a doctor in India at this moment," said Neha from Kolkata. She further added, "If you're a female doctor and you get married, the senior male doctors would start giving you less preference in training. I think female doctors should not trust anyone and carry tasers/pepper spray with them all the time."
Meanwhile, Gayatri from Ahmednagar shared her friend's story. "A friend of mine was molested and groped by her senior male doctor, and she didn't complain because she needs a 'completion certificate' from him. After the Kolkata incident, my parents have lost all hope and want me to go abroad after a couple of years," she said.
Doctors Protest
Many doctors are also on strike and protesting for the speedy justice for Kolkata's horrific rape and murder case. The stir affected healthcare services as long queues of patients were seen at out-patient departments (OPDs) of all government hospitals in West Bengal since early Tuesday morning as senior doctors were substituting their junior counterparts to address the rush, PTI reported.
