He is also very proud of himself rather than happy for the patient whenever he does something that saves the patient from a lot of pain or even death.
A number of things also contribute greatly to this narcissism. Things like pulling off any of the following manoeuvres:
1. The Heimlich
2. Needle thoracostomy and tracheostomy
3. Kocher's manoeuvre and dt hip dislocation reduction thing
4. Arrest of hemorrhage
5. Securin' an IV when evry1 else has failed
6. The shoulder dystocia routine
7. Removal of retained placenta
8. Relievin d patient's urinary retention
9. Removal of foreign objects esp frm d child's ear and nose
10. Ultimately, performing a successful CPR.
It really takes the grace of God to accept the 'we care, God cures' thingie. Just that at times, we are spited by the cases we face irrespective of our depth of knowledge and experience.
As I always like to tell my patient's relations when they ask me if the patient will be OK...'I can only do my best and hope for the best for the patient'.
Tagged in this note: Hippocrates (our imposed mentor)
Well, I think the God complex debate is a natural consequence of our parochial and oftentimes selfish perspectives, depending on which side of the claim/accusation divide we find ourselves. Let's face it, nothing is more God-like than liberating a human life from the throe of disease and imminent demise knowing fully well that no other person but a doctor is equipped to do just that. At the same time, since we are dealing with lives here, neutrals are always quick to argue that patients deserve 'respect'... for it is their bodies we are talking about here. With that I agree, just that no matter how much we pretend, the practice of medicine is still a job. No one should rob the doctor the thrill of having clinched a diagnosis or saving the life of the child with a seemingly simple manoeuvre. Just like no one should rob the banker the thrill of discovering a million dollar customer or the lawyer the thrill of putting his paedophile client back on the street. It's like asking Torres not to celebrate when he scores... But for doctors, the rules are different, right? That's not fair, methinks....
ReplyDeleteLol. Nice take bro. I think we deserve to celebrate really. I do like the Torres analogy. Just that we need to change what our motivation is. Our motivation should be to help the patients not to stroke our ego.
ReplyDeleteTorres celebrates when he scores, but for the good of the team at times, he passes the ball to somebody in a better position to score. If Torres' motivation is just to score all the goals, then he'd miss a lot of chances and that might not be good for the team in the end.
That said, I am over the top when I clinch the diagnosis or save a patient, but I also think that at times the patient would die anyway even if I had done everything right. So it's not totally about me.
Thank you for the insight sir!