You make a good point about the stressful effect of uncertainty. On the other hand in my experience some physicians don't put enough emphasis on the uncertainty of their recommendation for surgery, for example. Then when a bad outcome occurs, patients will recall with anger for a very long time their physician's excessive certainty about…
You make a good point about the stressful effect of uncertainty. On the other hand in my experience some physicians don't put enough emphasis on the uncertainty of their recommendation for surgery, for example. Then when a bad outcome occurs, patients will recall with anger for a very long time their physician's excessive certainty about a good surgical outcome. Maybe, as suggested by the article you linked, we all need to realize that "If high uncertainty is really unavoidable, if the Buddhists are right, gratification is transitory and suffering inevitable, then, in the big picture, the odds of adversity aren’t 50% but 100%. So, if we’re concerned about the big picture, we might as well worry less about snakes and practise the art of surrender."
I had a C5-C6 fusion, which my surgeon told me beforehand was 99% effective in relieving pain. In my post surgery follow-up, I told him the pain was the same as before surgery. I wasn't angry at him for his overconfidence beforehand, but I got very angry at his response. He asked if I had any tingling in my hands, and I said no. He said, "You told me you had tingling in your hands and now you don't, so the surgery was successful." I had never told him I had tingling in my hands (because I didn't), and my only symptom was neck pain, but he basically called me a liar and continued to insist my surgery was successful. OK, THAT made me angry, even though as a shrink, I understand why he had to lie to himself to justify what he said and did. In my case, I did not have a life threatening illness. I was thinking more about situations in which patients have a life threatening condition, which is very stressful to begin with, and adding uncertainty about treatment may only exacerbate their anxiety. I'm not saying doctors shouldn't be honest about the uncertainty, and respecting patient autonomy requires such honesty. I just hope that doctors are mindful of the additional stress, and help their patients cope with it. I agree it would be best for both doctors and patients to be more Buddhist-like and practice the art of surrender, but I know such is not the case in our society. Developing such a stance goes against our evolutionary-based existential anxiety, and is not easy. Just ask any monk about how much time and effort they put into it! :)
You make a good point about the stressful effect of uncertainty. On the other hand in my experience some physicians don't put enough emphasis on the uncertainty of their recommendation for surgery, for example. Then when a bad outcome occurs, patients will recall with anger for a very long time their physician's excessive certainty about a good surgical outcome. Maybe, as suggested by the article you linked, we all need to realize that "If high uncertainty is really unavoidable, if the Buddhists are right, gratification is transitory and suffering inevitable, then, in the big picture, the odds of adversity aren’t 50% but 100%. So, if we’re concerned about the big picture, we might as well worry less about snakes and practise the art of surrender."
I had a C5-C6 fusion, which my surgeon told me beforehand was 99% effective in relieving pain. In my post surgery follow-up, I told him the pain was the same as before surgery. I wasn't angry at him for his overconfidence beforehand, but I got very angry at his response. He asked if I had any tingling in my hands, and I said no. He said, "You told me you had tingling in your hands and now you don't, so the surgery was successful." I had never told him I had tingling in my hands (because I didn't), and my only symptom was neck pain, but he basically called me a liar and continued to insist my surgery was successful. OK, THAT made me angry, even though as a shrink, I understand why he had to lie to himself to justify what he said and did. In my case, I did not have a life threatening illness. I was thinking more about situations in which patients have a life threatening condition, which is very stressful to begin with, and adding uncertainty about treatment may only exacerbate their anxiety. I'm not saying doctors shouldn't be honest about the uncertainty, and respecting patient autonomy requires such honesty. I just hope that doctors are mindful of the additional stress, and help their patients cope with it. I agree it would be best for both doctors and patients to be more Buddhist-like and practice the art of surrender, but I know such is not the case in our society. Developing such a stance goes against our evolutionary-based existential anxiety, and is not easy. Just ask any monk about how much time and effort they put into it! :)