Doctors are human too
Every time I narrate that I qualified as a medical doctor in 2002, I am reminded just how long I’ve been doing this work. In the same breath, I am amazed at how quickly time goes. It feels just like yesterday that I was walking the stage of my alma mater, MEDUNSA. Only, it was nearly 22 years ago! I am deeply grateful to universal powers for trusting me to be a custodian of health this long to the many who have crossed my path, seeking medical help and advice.
I have seen and treated many ails and diseases since I was a young intern in 2003, from minor colds to severe afflictions that threatened life and limb and caused much distress to me and my patients. But the most memorable ones are those out of my scope as an allopathic (modern Western medicine) health practitioner. Some of the stuff I’ve had to deal with should be in an episode of “Ripley’s Believe It or Not”. You best believe I’m going to share them as I won’t be breaking any confidentiality rules in doing so.
I came to realise very early in my human health Xplorations the strange and inherent expectation by my fellow non-medic humans for a medical doctor “to be more than just a doctor”. There is a tacit belief that doctors are more than human. I remember when I worked in public hospitals, how patients would get upset when doctors paused to attend to physiological needs like eating or using the bathroom. Yet this disapproval did not apply to the nurses we worked with. They could take lunch breaks without anyone murmuring they’ve been waiting for long. But apparently, doctors are made of plastic organs that can function for 8-10 hours without needing to pause and drink or void liquids. We’re simply expected to be available at all times and be of service to the community.
A lot of the time whenever I bump into one of my patients at the supermarket, I can’t tell if they are happy to see me or are surprised to see me push a grocery trolley. It’s almost too shocking to them that I am not at work, and that I eat. Of course, they don’t say this, but body language never lies.
Apart from this, there is also an expectation to be omniscient on matters non-medically related. And I mean everything about anything. You won’t believe it when I tell you the problems I am expected to solve. Or you will believe it because you are as guilty of making your doctor suffer the same fate as I do. I’ve had to give “expert advice” on schools to send their kids, to recommendations on medicine for their pets. I swear if I was practicing in the 1980s, people would have come to treat their pains and infections while carrying their broken primus stoves for me to also fix.
I don’t know what urban legends are out there about what is taught at medical school. Or maybe it is the 6 years of studies that make people believe that we Xplore much more than just medicine. But I can categorically confirm that there are no lectures that cover which medical aid options are best or how much cortisone or which antibiotic to give to pets. The only time I learnt anything about animals was during Zoology when we were taught how to treat humans for injuries and infections inflicted by animals and insects. So, please try the Vet next door.
It warms my heart that people who seek my services trust my skills and knowledge in my medical rooms and beyond. Don’t get me wrong, chatting to my patients about general life stuff, comes naturally and often forms part of the pleasantries during consultation. There are patients I have known since I opened my practice in 2012 and I have seen them through a decade of life’s changes. Beyond the doctor-patient relationship, we share common experiences and interests such as the best local restaurants, politics, the good and bad on raising kids, travel Xplorations, and much more. This happens organically because, over time, we have become like family. However, I am not qualified to give expert advice on many of the things I get asked to weigh in on simply because I am a doctor. The notion that doctors are all-knowing on an array of matters is simply that, public perception. This is my attempt to expose the public to the often-missed blind spot – that doctors are also human. We take our pets to the Vet because we don’t know how to treat them ourselves. We have regular life challenges too.
I wish I had answers to most things, especially for this phase in my life where raising teenage children is proving to be a conundrum. I’d be rich from selling this advice to fellow parents! For those who consult my colleagues for healthcare services, I hope this makes you see your doctor as a regular human who works as a doctor and be more forgiving when they don’t have answers to everything. For my colleagues who read this, I hope it lifts the load of expectation off your shoulders, and you are not ashamed to say “I don’t know”.
