Vain Souls with White Wings

Shall we go to bed… Doctor?

Prejudice subdued, different ethnic groups have managed to manifest certain socio-behavioral traits, some of which are good, and other ones not particularly flattering. And although every unique individual harbors within his soul the opposite of all characters and traits, some of those traits may manage to surface as a general trait for a particular ethnic, genetic, cultural or geographic population. That character or trait may not necessarily be present in every individual unit in that cultural pool, yet it may seem to be present up to a threshold of abundance, at which point it becomes a detectable trait in more people of that population, qualifying it to be a trend character for population X. Let those trends be physical, behavioral or otherwise. Good, bad, or neither.

To exemplify, many may see individuals of French background generally and favorably as sexually radiant, yet unfavorably as rude. Germans on the other hand may favorably depict the master crafter model, and unfavorably as rugged. Brits favorably as master planers or even devious (when conquering the world compared to their American cowboy cousins), and unfavorably as yellow-toothed. And Middle Easterns, and along the same lines, as passionate yet untamed. That by no stretch should insinuate that every French woman is sexually radiant or British man is yellow-toothed.

Kings and queens, princes and princesses, titles that much blood were shed to conquer in Middle East medieval times, clearly evident in both pre and post Islamic eras. Kuwaitis, like many of Arab heritage, have historically been fascinated with titles, titles that entail money, power and class status, consequently feeding into vanity. And since ruling and tribal title wars have been settled once and for good, wealth, social, professional, and more recently academic status was left to be competed for in the Kuwaiti game field. A game that may remain within its constructive element, or mutate to an obsession and a goal by itself.

Coming back to Kuwait after many years of physical detachment granted me the ability to culture judge the Kuwaiti medical community, comparing it to its European, and later Northern American counter models. Having said that, fascination with titles in the medical community, as well as many similar academic communities was way too striking than to be sought.

“Title Fascination Majora” starts with the gruesome struggle to win the heart of her majesty, the title “Consultant”, to the more devious battle to claim the chairman and head of department positions. Once claimed, too hard to let go. To it’s Northern American counter model, where fees are for service, many of those positions are weighed as more of a burden, a sentence that needs to be served as part of a physician’s obligation to perform a rotating duty in order to cover academic and administrative positions. A time looked at as poorly invested in the physician’s money generating time window in comparison to patient care duties. And from that stems two models, a political one where hospital administration hierarchal positions attract the politically inclined physicians, and those are a minority. On the other hand, the academic positions that attract, and not to anyone’s surprise, the educationally and academically inclined physicians, and those are an even more of a minority. Roles that are more costly and less attractive in terms of financial gratification.

“Title Fascination Minora” has always intrigued me even more, and I must confess it triggered my primal curiosity and interest in the subject. Arab doctors, and of my particular concern here, Kuwaiti doctors, are called doctors by their families and family friends starting the day they contemplate applying to medical school, just like an engineer is so the day he gets his first set of good marks in Mathematics. A long fetched goal, social pressure, and climate that ultimately prints that title in its eventual owner’s mind more so than what it actually entails.

In at least the “Northern American” model, introducing one self to new colleagues, superiors, juniors, nursing staff and desk clerks with a first name, only sets the ground to which you intend to run your show at your work place, as a warm, friendly, available, and equally important entity. Where the professional entitlements of doctor-patient relationship, and within the boundaries of the healthcare environment remains unequivocal and uncompromised, maintaining all due titles.

In Kuwait, a new graduate physician shopping at a mall can answer his name to a casual television network interviewer as “Doctor”. A father consistently calling his daughter down for lunch as “Doctor”. A nurse that worked with him for the past three years as “Doctor”. A first hand shake and name exchange at a blind date as “Doctor”. A wife, story telling about her husband repeatedly referring to him as “Doctor”. And a friendly introduction of an intern to his new medical team as “Doctor”. Walking into a family gathering, or a friend’s wedding, when one is clearly out of his professional element unavoidably and loudly called “Doctor”. You try to convince anyone that this is not only unnecessary, but also generally distasteful, yet that doesn’t seem to go far in a culture that is fascinated with titles. If not “Sheikh” it’s “Princess”, if it’s not “Doctor” it’s “Engineer”, if it’s not “Ostath” (lawyer, teacher), it’s “Obo-Flan*”. All of which may well be fine, within their relative environments, but definitely not when out of that title’s professional boundaries, and certainly not when introducing own self.

One little dot, among many other dots. In a world where titles mean survival, and in a climate where content serves the title and not the other way around, we remain a developing world at best, a world where man remains primal in his needs, neighboring a world where man some how managed to fine tune his behavior, and prior to that his cognition, to a finer grind, and a more satisfying journey.

* “Obu-Flan”: An Arabian nickname when a man, and out of respect, is called by the name of his eldest son (or daughter) instead of his first name. Synonym: Father of X.