In a letter to the editor, Smokey Stover MD comments:
"It is truly ironic that our increased ability to cure has been
accompanied by a decreased ability (or is it inclination?) to heal. In the
course of my clinical years I had the privilege of being connected to
individuals at birth and death... Despite my relative technical impotence - birth happens
well most of the time regardless of what you as a physician do, and the
deaths were not preventable – these were the times I felt closest to my
patients and were the times of the greatest bonding.
One cannot help but wonder about how the tremendous financial burdens
with which our young physicians enter practice and their expectations of
an affluent lifestyle impact their ability to assume the role of healer. A
generation or two ago, physicians were revered icons in their communities
but lived a very modest lifestyle. Today, they are affluent by virtually
all community standards, but suffer from the malaise of a loss of identity
and prestige. We need to reclaim our own souls, and, in the process, learn
to heal again."
http://www.annfammed.org/content/7/2/170/reply#annalsfm_el_10754?sid=460bdfb6-837b-4c1c-b527-3d427bfb5c4a
Parker J. Palmer: “Leading from Within: Reclaim Selfhood in Professional Life”
(skip 8 minute intro):
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| Photo: RuthC www.dpreview.com |
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