Far from losing faith or questioning what kind of ‘proper’ doctor would admit they are ‘not sure’, patients seem to appreciate my vulnerability
I have always thought, and still tell prospective medical students, that the most attractive part of being a doctor is there is something in it for everyone who has a thirst for knowledge.
From the quiet thinker to the gregarious soul, detail-driven to big-picture person, staunch researcher to unabashed clinician, most of us will find a home in medicine, even if, in a sorry postscript, a fraction of doctors will become disillusioned and even leave for reasons that are all too familiar.
Knowledge in medicine has come a long way.
The HIV ward, the scene of graphically ill patients when I was training, is long closed because it’s no longer needed in most rich countries. When my young neighbour had a stroke, doctors cleverly retrieved the clot suffocating his artery, not just saving his life but also returning it to its full potential. An acquaintance just donated a kidney to a sibling, allowing two lives to continue nearly as they were before.
