Who is a doctor?

What a question! Of course a doctor is someone who has gone to medical school and treats sick people. They also use all these big words that nobody knows. They are mostly hardened, treating every patient as a case rather than a person...or someone with honorary doctorate or PhD.

  

Hm, good definition, albeit rather flawed. Let's examine it for a minute. 

According to World Health Organization (WHO), health is a state of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being and not merely the absence of disease or illness.

This means a deficiency in any of the above means an unhealthy person.

Simply put now, I'm thinking a doctor should be one whose job is to restore unhealthy people to full health eh?

I'm going to ask again, who is a doctor?

 

Can it be a physician, surgeon, psychiatrist and all those people that went to medical school?  

Most definitely! They, in this case, me and them, all have a role to play in the four areas of well-being. If you only take care of the first part, then you have not done the best. No wonder some of our patients keep coming back with bizarre complaints. Of course, the more they come back, the more money we get eh? But let's remember, it's about healing not making money (tongue in cheek), so the more needs we meet, the more the satisfaction we gain. 

I would like to meet my patient on the road and hear him say 'Doctor, thanks a lot. I feel okay now' rather than 'Doctor, the drugs worked at first but now I need to come and see you for the same complaints'.

Can a doctor be your partner, your family member, your friend, colleague, your pastor? 

I like to think so! At one point in time or another, these people have contributed towards your well-being in the aforementioned categories. 

Your parents put you through school (mental); your spouse has cooked you a big meal and shown you some love (physical, emotional); your pastor has just spoken some words of comfort to you (spiritual); even a smile from a stranger at times or a compliment.

I guess WHO did not know the implication of their definition of health. They have just made everyone a potential doctor!

So what do I have above all these other people? I know some of those big medical terms!

On a tangential note, how come 'doctored' is a negative word?

I'm going to end with this, your health and that of others around you is your responsibility. Always be willing to play doctor - but know your limits!

- Dr B. Arabambi, MBBS.

So you think you're a god?

Doctors have been widely accused of having the 'God complex'. A doctor gets annoyed when the patient, nurse or even other doctors tell him what to do.
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)

Doc, I'd like to take the pills like you said but I just can't.

Sitting at my desk at the out-patient clinic (which I hate working at by the way), there came this middle-aged man. The most striking thing about him was not his age group but the punishment he was going through trying to take each breathe.

I looked through his case file, saw that he was being treated for heart failure. His last visit was about 6 months ago, when he was given a week supply of drugs. I shook my head (in 50% judgement and 50% pity) and asked him why he stopped coming for clinic.

He told me he lived in the village and he was feeling okay then. I opened my mouth to scold him but then something struck me...

This poor man, like a chunk of my 'clients' is guilty of what we call POOR COMPLIANCE. That condition in which our first plan in treatment would be 'advise patient on good compliance'. During this 'advice', we threaten, cajole, beg and bully them into understanding why they should comply...most of the time, it doesn't work.

My point, let's flip seats for a moment. Let's get away from that doctor 'pedestal' and look at what transpires when we go to the one that can help us when we are in 'heart failure'. We go like, 'I can't breath and I feel choked by everything', 'my legs are swollen and I can hardly move forward', 'I have palpitations as I'm always afraid', 'I get tired after a little effort and I'm losing hope'. Then if the Doctor decides to look at our records, do you think He finds us compliant? When He presents our case to the Consultant, does He say, 'that one? Mschew. He's hopeless and non-compliant'?!

...back to what struck me, I realized I have been way too judgmental on these patients. I looked at the man and smiled. I told him we had to admit him so that his problems can be taken care of quickly and he can breath easy again. The issue of 'compliance' we will handle through understanding and working hand in hand. The Doctor doesn't scold me, His grace is over-sufficient for me...so why should I scold my patients?

In summary, in case you did not understand any of my jargon...God's not judgmental...that's why He told the crowd that 'let him who hath no sin, cast the first stone'. So please, if you hath no sin, stone away...