Pneumonochrome

“There’s a right that’s given to us as physicians to do things to patients that would be criminal for anyone else to do.”

That was part of the closing remark in one of my classes today, and I can’t think of many things that would be more important for a doctor to realize. Physicians are given permission to have contact with patients that would be considered criminal contact coming from almost anyone else. The amount of trust that must exist between physician and patient for the patient to be comfortable with this arrangement is unimaginable to me, and I think it helps me understand why “medical professionalism” is so very important.

While many patients may give that trust to a physician because of his credentials and white coat, and others may give that trust to a physician because they trust the person who referred them to the physician, no patient should ever be expected to give that trust to someone, including a physician, who has not earned it through profession, respectful behavior toward the patient.

Really think about that. Surgeons cut into their patients. They inflict wounds that could very well be fatal, and in any other circumstance probably would be fatal. How could I, if I pursue a career in surgery expect a patient just to trust me, without any effort at building a trusting relationship from me, to bring them well within the reach of death, and to bring them back again?

How can a physician expect a patient to whom he has not shown compassion and respect to be comfortable revealing what may be the most intimate details of his life? And yet, in many cases, exactly those most intimate details are the ones necessary to determine the correct diagnosis, and effectively administer the right treatment?

It was very sobering to me to hear that said today, and I think it helped impress upon me the responsibility that I am taking on along with the privilege of having the opportunity to see people in the humble, vulnerable, and fearful moments of their lives, the privilege of being able to help them find some relief from their fears and their pains. That is why I’m going into medicine, but I think it is a very serious thing the remember that those privileges come with some heavy responsibilities as well.