Quote:
Originally Posted by yagr
I can't get this out of my head... I wonder which patients he means...
Perhaps it is the woman who just got rushed in after a massive heart attack who has been smoking for forty years and living on fried foods?
Perhaps it is the seventeen year old boy who had to be life flighted in to the ER after a horrific car accident he had while texting his girlfriend while driving down the highway.
Perhaps it is the poor fellow who came by ambulance after he fell into a diabetic coma after eating a quart of ice cream and a box of twinkies.
I wish I knew who these people he's referring to who didn't hurt themselves are?
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I know. I've been thinking about this, too. I'm not convinced that the medical community (though particularly those that work in urgent care/emergency) is very good at the whole "non-judgement/unconditional positive regard/service/humility" thing. I've found it better in some areas--women's health and mental/behavioral health--but outside those specialties, not so much.
It's like they get tunnel vision, and there's nothing in the culture that encourages self-policing or stepping back and trying to have a little compassion. I'm not sure all of them even realize what they're doing--which is deciding who is "worthy" of medical care. Which is disgraceful. There's a long history of this (Think "oh that poor kid who got HIV from a blood transfusion" VS "That promiscuous f** who gave himself AIDS")
It's not that I don't understand break-room frustration. It's hard to see people do the same things to hurt themselves over and over again, particularly when you don't understand the behavior (I'm not talking about you, Pink. You don't deserve that kind of treatment. I'm so sorry this happened to you.) But there's a big difference between a venting session over coffee and the incredible God complex that Pink's ER doc exhibited. It's a shame.