Unwell

Sick and Tired

 Recently, I was in a meeting and somebody said “we see people who aren’t well. And when people aren’t well , they don’t behave reasonably.” It makes sense. I always tell patients, “I know you don’t feel well. And I’m sorry. And we’ll take care of you. I promise.” That’s because I knew what I was getting into when I started working in health care. My first day at the first clinic I ever worked at, someone told me “we see people at their very worst. Don’t ever expect to feel your best here.” It makes sense, right? Sick people don’t want to make friends, they don’t want to have meaningful conversation. They just want to feel better. And when you work with sick people, you want to help make them feel better. Everybody deserves to feel good.

Tired and Sick 

 I have had the privilege of working for a lot of VERY good doctors. Every time I have asked those doctors how they do it, they roll their eyes and say “chronic fatigue.” Every single one of them has said that. That’s probably the first thing they learn in medical school. There’s probably a class called “Forget your life, you are going to be exhausted until you die.” And if you don’t pass that class, you can’t be a doctor. Or at least, you can’t be a good doctor. But this is the thing, for some reason, doctors keep being doctors. And I can’t figure out why. Believe me now, when I tell you these truths. I am not going to substantiate these claims with numbers or facts or scholarly references, but please just trust my experience here. Doctors get lied to more than any other professional group. Doctors hear more lies than cops and judges combined. Doctors have to decipher more bullshit than a cow farmer. And if they don’t cut through all the crap that patients shovel at them, somebody could die. DIE. DEAD. And thanks to assholes who pursue illegitimate malpractice claims, dead people are a burden to doctors. So, yeah. Doctors have more responsibility that most people could ever fantasize about.

Unwell

 Ok, so I told you that to tell you this: Doctors are amazing. They treat the sick, lame and lazy. But even more than that, they treat the unwell. A few years ago, at a going away lunch with one of my very favorite doctors, and his beautiful wife, an ER nurse, I asked “Why are you guys leaving? This community is going to suffer a very tremendous void in your absence.” And he said “because 90% of my patients aren’t sick. They are unwell.” He didn’t’ have to say another word. I had no response, but I understood. I was still very new to the health care. But I got it. What happens when you commit yourself to making others feel better, but nobody ever feels better? That’s what it’s like to be a doctor. When you dedicate every fiber of your being to healing others, but those people don’t want to be healed. The effects probably make you feel a little unwell. You might even question your purpose. You might leave a community that could have benefited from you. ;But, in reality, that’s what happens when good doctors are abused by bad patients. I know there are a lot of bad doctors out there. Fortunately, I haven’t ever worked for any. So, I can tell you what happens when good doctors are devoted to bad patients…they become unwell. And that’s not good for anybody. So anyway…the next time you think you are important and have a lot of responsibility, don’t. You aren’t a doctor.