Pretty
much on a weekly basis the author writes an article about how awful life is as
a practicing doctor. Articles focus on how unhappy medical practitioners are
with their jobs, with their working hours, with their pay or with health care
reforms. Also, reading and judging from various articles, social
media surveys and blogs,
the medical profession seems to be extremely demoralized. Doctors typically
complain of “feeling like a beaten dog” to “living in humiliating servitude”. The
public response to these complaints is largely indifferent. The prevailing
attitude (if the comments sections of online articles and blogs are to be
believed) seems to be less than sympathetic. Comments like “Poor doctors,
making a little less income and not being treated like gods anymore, have to
work long hours, welcome to the real world, you grumblers” do not make an
attempt to understand a doctor’s psyche.
Thankfully, practicing medicine is poles apart than the online stream of hostility that the
doctors are subjected to on a daily basis. Should patients also talk to their
doctors the way online comments read, they would have quit practicing years
ago. The reality remains that a large number of patients are still generally
grateful, attentive, and respectful.
But the
fact remains, doctors, somewhere in their hearts, like their jobs. Is it the perfect
job? The answer is “Absolutely not, in fact quite far from it.” There are
certainly many times when being a doctor seems like a very difficult task. The
long hours, high pressure and emotionally charged environment can take its toll
on anyone. Although practicing medicine is certainly a challenge, doctors love their
profession, and are thankful for the privilege of practicing medicine every
single day.
There
is something very special about being a doctor.
All
doctors take the Hippocratic Oath on the day of their graduation, promising to
help the sick, and in doing so we shoulder a profound responsibility. For a
doctor, helping a really sick person to get better is absolutely the best thing
about his job. Not many professions can experience the true satisfaction that a
doctor feels when he knows he has made a significant and positive change in a
person’s life. The enormous wealth of training, investment and opportunity that
has been given to a doctor is fixated on one goal, i.e. to attend to the
patient in front of him.
A special
feature of this profession is that one gets to experience and understand the
entire spectrum of the human condition. Doctors may be privy to a secret the
patient entrusts to no other. They see people at their very worst and their
very best. They are present when babies are born and when patients die.
Although these moments can be intense, it is to be remembered that the patients
entrust a doctor with seeing them at their most vulnerable.
Another
great aspect of this profession is that it hones skills which are useful in
many other areas. For example, doctors become adept at prioritizing tasks. They
learn to troubleshoot problems and make critical decisions under pressure. They
learn how to interact with children and the elderly and everybody in between. They
learn how to manage other people. In short, a doctor learns a lot of really
useful life skills.
The
attitude of the treating doctor also shapes the work environment to some
extent. Patient and peer temperament are in part a reflection of the doctor
himself. If a frightened, sick patient is approached with an arrogant,
dismissive tone, the professional relationship with the patient (and his family)
develops accordingly. There is a negative cascade that doctors can trigger
(perhaps unwittingly) when they are rushed, curt, or inattentive. Beginning
every new patient relationship with a caring, respectful, detailed history and
physical exam lays a foundation of trust for future interactions. Once a positive
rapport has been developed, the daily grind can be much more bearable.
Doctors
have, to an extent, the power to make their careers as meaningful or
soul-sucking as they choose. The relationships built by allying themselves with
patients, and shepherding them through this broken system, are where the rewards lie.
Patients hold the keys to the professional fulfilment of doctors because
nothing can beat the joy of helping those in need.
How
does a doctor know that patient appreciation is enough to make this profession
worthwhile???
“Because
he still loves being a doctor.”
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