What I've learned about doctors....

In the past, I feel like I've seen doctors in a very narrow sided view. When I go to the doctor and they are very clinical, asking questions and giving very formal answers, or sometimes causing frustration with very vague answers that present more questions, I don't really understand it. I remember going from doctor to doctor to doctor before a physical therapist was the one who finally told me what was wrong with my feet that was causing so much pain. It used to frustrate me and made me not want to go to the doctor....ever. As some of you might know, my sister is now finishing up her last year of residency and will soon be done with all the schooling that has been her life for so many years. Here are some things that I have learned about doctors that I would like to share:
1. The amount of studying that they have to do in medical school is HUGE and unbelievable! This means sacrificing trips to family reunions, dinners with friends, and free time that you and I might take for granted.2. After medical school, they have little control as to where they end up for residency. Most of us have the luxury of being able to decide where we are going to live for any three year period of time, but they pretty much have to go where they are told. Even if it is 20 hours away from where they would really like to be.3. They always have to perform a job that isn't their preferred job during residency. They have so many rotations in all kinds of different medical departments of a hospial or clinic even if that particular department is their least favorite. It would be like someone working in an office as a sales rep and the boss saying "for the next month you will be working in the mail room". Yet they accept rotations in the PICU and NICU and ER as part of becoming a doctor and perform the job to the best of their ability, and in my sister's case with little to no complaining at all.4. They have personal opinions and thoughts about the treatment of a patient that they must keep to themselves and are only able to express it when not directly in the situation. Whether it be how to treat a patient, when to treat a patient, or when to cease treatment of a patient, this is something that they most likely won't be able to say to the patient, or the patient's family.5. They complain about their job too, like so many of us do. Whether it be because they were called to a procedure an hour too early by the nursing staff and end up having to stand around waiting when charts and paperwork are piling up somewhere else for them, or when they have to hike up 3 flights of stairs the day that they wore dressy shoes to work to check on a parent of a patient that got "dizzy" and could have been helped by the staff giving them some juice, there are aspects of their job that they find frustrating.6. They make "medical jokes" that the rest of us don't understand. Probably because it something that we might not find funny, but because of their position and what they have to do as part of their job, they are able to see the humor of it. If you don't believe me, google "MTV Cribs NICU" and tell me if you think it is as funny as my doctor friends did. I'm sure that we just don't get it the same way that they do since we don't have to deal with that stuff every day, and it's not right to judge them for finding humor in something that we have little to no idea about.7. They have their own language and who knows when they will fall into speaking it to eachother. It is full of acronyms, and abbreviations, and words that make absolutely no sense to the rest of us. To me it sounds something like this "They checked his B.P.A levels with the P.E.T. and they were within episcium levels so they ordered H.P.A.s for him every other interval and will check his T.R.E in the morning." If you are lucky, you will come across one of them who can act like an interpreter and will say "So what that means is that we are keeping a close eye on the oxygen level in his blood using a special instrument and by the morning we will be able to know if we need to give him some medicine." 8. They take care of each other. Whether it be taking dinner or breakfast to another doctor when they are on call for 24 hours (which I can't IMAGINE working that long at one time) or making sure their pet is taken care of and fed, or holding another doctor and letting them just cry when they come home from a really really terrible day of work of seeing little children fighting for their lives, and ultimately losing the battle.9. They work LONG hours! The fact that they are required to work about 80 hours during residency (twice that of most of the rest of us) is crazy, but they VERY often stay longer than that. Maybe to finish paperwork, charting, or because there was an influx of emergency admissions that happened 5 minutes before they were supposed to get off of work, they probably put in at least 10-15 extra hours a week, if not more.10. They want an answer just as much as you do They say things like "I HATE it when I don't know what is going on with a patient!" They are trying to weed through thousands of different conditions and symptoms that may or may not be completely different for every person, and they want to see you get healthy too. The process of elimination is sometimes all they have and are doing their best to figure it out when you having a fever might mean a different sickness than me having a fever.11. They have fun! Whether it be playing a video game on their Wii, or playing cards, or teaching their new puppy tricks, or going out on a boat, they like to have fun just like the rest of us.12. They are the best people to have as family and friends. Even through all the demands placed on them by their jobs, they find time to comfort you, help you, encourage you, teach you, and be wonderful friends to you.
Maybe it is just me that was so naive about doctors and the reality of their lives, but I would like to say THANK YOU to all my doctor friends who have taught me so much and helped me to have a much better understanding of your world. :-)