Sitting on a beach watching the sunrise, I see wave after wave gently lap the shore—some silently, others with a little splash. Today is quiet, but there have been noisier days. Each wave carries something unseen. Nothing seems to change, yet things change with each gentle return: a hint of yesterday and a whiff of tomorrow, a quiet shift passing imperceptibly.
The patient ,in the clinic follow up for CHF, with 3+ edema AGAIN, when asked about salt intake, responds, without fear or favor , "Doc, I love prosciutto... "
Thank you for this lovely poem. As a GP I found it really comforting. I have shared it with other GP friends and we all love it. We sometimes get it wrong. It is often not clear cut. We try our best and somtimes fail. It is a tough, exhausting but rewarding job.
The PC I fired because he insisted I wear a mask for a treadmill test, but couldn’t provide me with any clinical evidence that a masked treadmill test provides reliable data and who couldn’t be reached by email or phone when my acute cough had me vomiting (and then refused to write an Rx with codeine)…because doing so was inconvenient for him. The endocrinologist in the same academic institution who only saw me once to treat my hypothyroidism (thyroidectomy 30 yrs earlier), lowered my Synthroid repeatedly via email (without a single question about how I felt), until I gained 10 lbs and slept all the time.
Then after going to a new IDN and insisting on a late middle-aged, white male— having a PC who listens to me, asks me questions, and responds personally to emails and phone calls. He practices like my father practiced.
Young doctors are consistently aloof and lazy. Many foreign MDs have no empathy or interest in treating the whole human.
Just my opinion and I know I sound like a bigot. But I spent my entire childhood surrounded by physicians, spent 25 years in pharma, and I know what makes a physician great. And which MDs I wouldn’t trust my dog with. Medical school and fellowships now are producing poor clinicians.
Surprisingly moving. Maybe because modern medicine feels more like cattle car operation than patient care. Is it patient care anymore? Or insurance care? I wonder. And my rebuttable.
The cardiologist who believed me when I said (after the holter monitor didn't find anything) "something ain't right doc"
Doctor who told me "my male patients like me because I have thin/skinny fingers" IYKYK
Army Doctor who jabbed me with a needle than took a call from the COL and forgot about my shot in the arm.
Doctors who saved my father's life and told us "he had a sepsis but somehow, his body managed to contain it...stubbornly" My brother's and I all responding in unison...that checks out
The nurses who all waved at my mother as she took a victory lap around the ICU after recovering from flat lining due to MI.
The same nurses who cried and offered condolences when she had another MI later that day and passed away.
Every soldier who took combat life saver course wanting to stick you with IV/saline no matter the ailment.
Army docs living up to the name TMC: Troop Medical Clinic but us grunts called it "Tylenol, Motrin, Crutches" cuz you only got the three and nothing more.
Watching the graduation of medical school friends who ALL had that glimmer in his/her eyes. Only to be defeated decades later by the ...cattle car approach to medicine.
Wow, as a non-doctor, this brought tears to my eyes, the glimpses of the human experience, the special role of physicians, and the all-over-the-place relationships between patients and doctors. Thank you, all you healthcare workers, we appreciate you!
Sitting on a beach watching the sunrise, I see wave after wave gently lap the shore—some silently, others with a little splash. Today is quiet, but there have been noisier days. Each wave carries something unseen. Nothing seems to change, yet things change with each gentle return: a hint of yesterday and a whiff of tomorrow, a quiet shift passing imperceptibly.
The patient ,in the clinic follow up for CHF, with 3+ edema AGAIN, when asked about salt intake, responds, without fear or favor , "Doc, I love prosciutto... "
It's really nice to hear this and know that we are not alone in our little wins, tragedies, frustrations, and joys, thank you.
Thank you for this lovely poem. As a GP I found it really comforting. I have shared it with other GP friends and we all love it. We sometimes get it wrong. It is often not clear cut. We try our best and somtimes fail. It is a tough, exhausting but rewarding job.
Another wonderful reflection. Many of those lines still bring to mind specific patients---even after many years of retirement.
So real thank you. I'm in the 7th inning stretch of my nursing career and am enjoying school health.
In the same day I have seen the routine fell off riding toy and abraded knee to aortic dissection. We are such resilient fragile creatures.
Thanks for your writing The sadness and the the humor are very real
The PC I fired because he insisted I wear a mask for a treadmill test, but couldn’t provide me with any clinical evidence that a masked treadmill test provides reliable data and who couldn’t be reached by email or phone when my acute cough had me vomiting (and then refused to write an Rx with codeine)…because doing so was inconvenient for him. The endocrinologist in the same academic institution who only saw me once to treat my hypothyroidism (thyroidectomy 30 yrs earlier), lowered my Synthroid repeatedly via email (without a single question about how I felt), until I gained 10 lbs and slept all the time.
Then after going to a new IDN and insisting on a late middle-aged, white male— having a PC who listens to me, asks me questions, and responds personally to emails and phone calls. He practices like my father practiced.
Young doctors are consistently aloof and lazy. Many foreign MDs have no empathy or interest in treating the whole human.
Just my opinion and I know I sound like a bigot. But I spent my entire childhood surrounded by physicians, spent 25 years in pharma, and I know what makes a physician great. And which MDs I wouldn’t trust my dog with. Medical school and fellowships now are producing poor clinicians.
A lovely heartfelt reflection. It brought tears to my eyes just as a chuckle escaped my throat.
Ain't that the truth?
The head said: Geez you had and have a lot of patience.
But the heart smiled for you being a real doctor. Thank you!
Lovely
Surprisingly moving. Maybe because modern medicine feels more like cattle car operation than patient care. Is it patient care anymore? Or insurance care? I wonder. And my rebuttable.
The cardiologist who believed me when I said (after the holter monitor didn't find anything) "something ain't right doc"
Doctor who told me "my male patients like me because I have thin/skinny fingers" IYKYK
Army Doctor who jabbed me with a needle than took a call from the COL and forgot about my shot in the arm.
Doctors who saved my father's life and told us "he had a sepsis but somehow, his body managed to contain it...stubbornly" My brother's and I all responding in unison...that checks out
The nurses who all waved at my mother as she took a victory lap around the ICU after recovering from flat lining due to MI.
The same nurses who cried and offered condolences when she had another MI later that day and passed away.
Every soldier who took combat life saver course wanting to stick you with IV/saline no matter the ailment.
Army docs living up to the name TMC: Troop Medical Clinic but us grunts called it "Tylenol, Motrin, Crutches" cuz you only got the three and nothing more.
Watching the graduation of medical school friends who ALL had that glimmer in his/her eyes. Only to be defeated decades later by the ...cattle car approach to medicine.
Love it. Thanks.
Wow, as a non-doctor, this brought tears to my eyes, the glimpses of the human experience, the special role of physicians, and the all-over-the-place relationships between patients and doctors. Thank you, all you healthcare workers, we appreciate you!
So good on so many levels.
One wonders what younger health professionals who don't want to work very hard will miss. Will they understand that?