Comments on: Battling Cynicism in the ER http://mdjourney.com/battling-cynicism-in-the-er The Life of an Unconventional Med Student Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:13:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Sam http://mdjourney.com/battling-cynicism-in-the-er/comment-page-1#comment-456 Sam Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:26:23 +0000 http://premedjourney.com/battling-cynicism#comment-456 Chris- thanks for the comment. Yeah, it's tough. Some doctors I work with are great, and they serve as an example as how I would like to practice some day. Others are a different story. I have tried to refer to patient's names more often as well. I think it helps. But it's still hard. I fluctuate, sometimes the cynicism is stronger than other times. Anyway, thanks for the comment, I really appreciate hearing your perspective. Chris- thanks for the comment. Yeah, it’s tough. Some doctors I work with are great, and they serve as an example as how I would like to practice some day. Others are a different story.

I have tried to refer to patient’s names more often as well. I think it helps. But it’s still hard. I fluctuate, sometimes the cynicism is stronger than other times.

Anyway, thanks for the comment, I really appreciate hearing your perspective.

]]> By: Chris http://mdjourney.com/battling-cynicism-in-the-er/comment-page-1#comment-214 Chris Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:52:58 +0000 http://premedjourney.com/battling-cynicism#comment-214 This is a REAL problem I think all scribes face at some point. I've worked as a scribe for over 2 years now and have even had a doctor tell me, "Don't go into medicine. You'll just end up hating people." Yes, medicine particularly in the ER can drive one to this level of cynicism. The fortunate thing I find is that as a scribe we work with many different doctors all with different motivations and levels of empathy for their patients. The kind of physician you become is ultimately a choice you have to make. We must realize too that medicine has its limits. It isn't our goal to improve the socio-economic status of people which can sometimes plays a bigger role in health than the nearest ER. I like to try this once ever couple of shifts. Remember the name of the patient. I find myself FAR too often referring to patients by their symptoms or room number. Why? Because we have the mindset that we are treating disease. When, in fact, we should be more keenly aware that are treating people. Hope this helps. This is a REAL problem I think all scribes face at some point. I’ve worked as a scribe for over 2 years now and have even had a doctor tell me, “Don’t go into medicine. You’ll just end up hating people.” Yes, medicine particularly in the ER can drive one to this level of cynicism. The fortunate thing I find is that as a scribe we work with many different doctors all with different motivations and levels of empathy for their patients. The kind of physician you become is ultimately a choice you have to make. We must realize too that medicine has its limits. It isn’t our goal to improve the socio-economic status of people which can sometimes plays a bigger role in health than the nearest ER. I like to try this once ever couple of shifts. Remember the name of the patient. I find myself FAR too often referring to patients by their symptoms or room number. Why? Because we have the mindset that we are treating disease. When, in fact, we should be more keenly aware that are treating people. Hope this helps.

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