On being a doctor! It’s difficult and it’s tough! Damn if you do, damn if you don’t!!
How often have you heard of patients complaining of the massive cost and expenses going out of hand? How often have we heard of patients with terminal illness being bombarded with interventions to prolong a life? How often have we heard of patients saying, had they known what would happen they would have chosen a different path? These are patients advising us to do everything possible and only later to blame us for the massive costs after all is said and done?
These are just few of the sad realities of medical practice we face everyday and the doctors’ are not the only one to blame. Our society becoming highly litigious and the emergence of super specialization in medicine are partly to blame. Doctors tend to be defensive and call on other specialties to protect themselves. When the various medical personalities are on board, both cost and the primary physicians’ control of the situation gets out of hand. It is a common site to see a patients’ chart literally covered by the different doctors helping in the case. It is an offshoot of relatives saying “go ahead and do everything” but it pains my heart to see the less endowed ending up broke when all is said and done.
We tend to blame doctors for whatever wrong happens. We tend to forget that doctors’ are just humans. We try our best to make the most of it but sometimes we just fall short. As we always say, we win some, we lose some.
Physicians are “mostly” driven by the desire to serve and make a difference on peoples’ lives. It is unfortunate how the profession has deteriorated of late. The animosity increasing and the distrust becoming more and more evident in our day to day practice. I believe that doctors’ must evaluate themselves, maintain a good line of communication and be transparent.
