REFLECTIONS : Is There Trouble in Paradise ?
At a local Oriental restaurant , having dined out , my family was introduced to a newly arrived visiting mother from the Philippines . Without much ado , she proudly announced that her son was a doctor . Like a badge of honor , this was a distinction she cherished , a dream fulfilled .
We look with love on our children . We imbue them with ambition . We expose them to toys and circumstances that make them value certain ways of life . We are of the mind that an apple indeed does not fall far from an apple tree . Do we indeed have a great influence on what our children will choose as their lifetime careers ?
Do farmers beget children that eventually produce what we eat and drink at the tables ? Do engineers devise machines that make life ’ s tasks easier , and make us conquer our earth and the planets afar that we now see ? Do doctors aim to prolong healthy and long , happy lives among their patients ?
Zeroing in on doctors , our own profession , we like to assume that candidates must have a modicum of brains to take on prolonged curricula ; the patience to go through another 12 to 15 years of post-high school education and training and pass myriad tests at each step to prove they have learned their material well – not to mention the loans or financial debts that may have been incurred in the long process ! by TERESITA BACANI-OROPILLA , MD
And now we have these full-fledged , trained physicians at our service . I can ’ t blame the proud mother for her announcement , “ My son is a doctor .”
But ! Are we using our wealth adequately , in a timely manner , to fulfill their purpose ? Are they available to their patients personally in times of emergency when they are most needed ? Or are the latter picked up as in a conveyor belt and treated from scratch by others ?
Does my family doctor know that in between my regular visits , my diabetic medications have been changed because I had a hypotensive episode ? Or that I had a mild stroke ?
There seems to be a disconnect somewhere . Who is my doctor ? When I had to be given a blood transfusion because I had gastrointestinal bleeding , when my back hurt because of collapsed vertebrae , who knew about it ? Does each part of my body have to be cared for by another specialist ? Which one ?
In the meantime , practicing physicians complain they have not enough time to talk to their patients because they have to check our information into charts in order to comply with certain regulations to be paid . How did this happen ? To certain specialties ? To all physicians ?
Who are they beholden to ? Are there consequences if these rules are not followed ?
Is there trouble in paradise ? Can it be corrected ? Dr . Bacani-Oropilla is a retired pediatrician and psychiatrist .
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