Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Why we do it.
Yesterday, I removed a bug from someone’s ear, cut a little cyst off someone else’s lower lip, fixed a nosebleed, fixed a broken nose, and reassured a few people, No you do not have cancer. Today was my OR day (yes, all that other stuff I can do in the office), and I took out a bunch of polyps from two people and removed facial masses from two others. A productive couple of days, I’d say.
One of my teenage patients asked me the other day how long I had to go to school to do this. I never know when to start counting, but I’ve learned that high school students DO add in the four years of college. I told him, and then I said, “You have to like school,” which I did, of course. In fact, if there’s one thing I regret about my job, it’s that I am no longer in school (if that makes any sense). No, CME (continuing medical education) doesn’t count. It just ain’t the same.
Also: I told him that the one remarkable thing about my job is that at the end of the day, it’s rare that I can’t feel at least some satisfaction that I’ve helped someone, and usually several someones. There aren’t many jobs like that, I suspect. And I’ve come to realize, this is why I do it. (Well, that and the fact that I don’t know how to do much else.) But I don’t know why other doctors do it.
It’s not something we talk about. We talk about the interesting cases we see, we share tips and tricks, we gripe about the non-medical aspects of medicine, but we never ask each other why we do it. But isn’t that the interesting question? I think so. Maybe some people are crazy enough to do it for the money. Trust me, I always tell the kids who ask about life as a doctor, if money is your only motivation, forget about it. If you’re smart enough to get through med school and residency, you’re smart enough to do something easier and make just as much, if not more*.
As much as I’d like to think we docs all have some sort of calling to this world, I kind of doubt that it’s true. I mean, I never had a calling. I may have one now, but it was a late development.
And now is when I regret that I have no readers who are doctors. Because I really would like to know if it’s the same for the others as it is for me.
D.
*Though there is one thing medicine provides that some of those other high-paying jobs might not provide: job security. With the doctor shortage being what it is, we can always find jobs. Might be in the middle of Teabag Country, of course.
Somethimes your calling finds you. Out of financial necessity and after a 20 year maternity leave, I re-entered the professional world when our fourth child began college. At the same time, our fifth and youngest child was entering high school, so with time on my hands and holes in my pockets, I began working as Development Director for a hunger relief agency founded by our then Mayor, now Governor. The first few months were grueling after so long being just Mom. It was a small agency, so I often answered the phone if the receptionist was away. Some of the calls brought me to tears. Like the AIDS patient who was calling to ask if we could help him to feed his beloved dog because he could not afford to. Or the mother stranded with her kids at the bus station with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. No matter how they ended up that way, they needed my help. I found my calling.
Thanks, Lucie. What’s the name of your organization?
The first hunger agency I worked for was Nashville’s Table which today is merged with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. http://www.secondharvestmidtn.org/ I then joined an organization fostered by Vanderbilt Universty called Food Security Partners of Middle Tennessee. FSPMT spent three years in incubation at Vanderbilt under VU’s 501(c)3, and then launched as an independent organization through a merger with Manna, a smaller agency engaged in Food Stamp (S.N.A.P.) outreach. The merged organization is called Community Food Advocates http://www.communityfoodadvocates.org/ . Foodbanks are short term bandaids for the hungry, while groups like CFA address root causes seeking longer term solutions. I retired after our youngest graduated from college (NO MORE TUITION!) but I remain passionately involved as a volunteer and advocate. Hunger in America is an extremely complex issue. I think I mentioned the Community Food Security Coalition before in a comment. Their website is a great resource if you are interested in food policy issues. http://www.foodsecurity.org/index.html