WITHOUT the WHITECOAT
Joy of Caring and the Medical School
If we have to produce more humane healers and physicians in our midst we have to start as early as in the formative years in medical school, the kick off point of one's medical career. Just like in the College of Medicine of the Central Philippine University (CPU), lectures on the values of LIFE, and the purpose-driven life, are being included in the first year of medical education. And recently they had introduced "The Joy of Caring" in its lectures. (Mind you it is the first in the country, another first for my dear old "Central")
The principle of "Joy of Caring" should be taught among students as soon as they start studying in the medical school to make them aware of the real life that awaits them after their medical training and to have a good direction in the field of medicine. The JOC (Joy of Caring) explains the difference between a healer and the ordinary doctor. It gives the listener three things to ponder on in life, DEATH - how would you like to be remembered when you die?, if you have all the TIME and MONEY in this world, what will you do?, and lastly the most important question to ponder on is "what is your purpose in Life?".
If you can observe medical practice nowadays has become too competitive, too technical and mechanical, associated with modern diagnostic equipment. Patient care is now equated to speed and long-lines outside the doctor's office (Reminds you of a fast food service? like the bee and the golden arches). There is no more interaction between the physician and the patient, the practice of medicine has become unfulfilling, and lastly the community and the media in particular are so critical and cynical and suspicious of the "men with the whitecoat".... the doctor. Gone are the days when there is commitment to service, comes the age of "burn-out" among doctors. Physicians don't have to shift gears in this days of evidence-based medicine, we have become too specialized in our fields of practice not realizing that expertise magnifies our importance as doctors, but will render us less effective healers.
The doctor is always viewed as the "one" that saves the patient, and has all the answers to his patient's illness and diseases; is responsible for the "cure" and health of the patient. The patient on the other hand is called the name of the disease, the patient is suffering from the doctor's preoccupation, not who is suffering the disease and the recipient of all the physician's orders and is labeled as "problematic" patients those who question the doctor's decision.
A Philippine pharmaceutical company, BIOMEDIS, Inc. had made it an advocacy to bring "LIFE" back to medicine. All over the Philippines it had spread the "bug" of caring among physician, doctors and health care-givers. The company under the leadership of a caring and compassionate cardiologist, Dr Eugene Ramos, and the program head of JOC advocacy Ms. Susan Enriquez had paved newer approaches how a physician can be effective among his/her patients, how can he/she relate to become a compassionate and caring doctor. In short a healer that "cares" for his/her patient.
The Biomedis, JOC advocacy had taught doctors that by understanding what really sustains and nourishes physicians, then as doctors we could do more consciously and intentionally enhance what is meaningful in the life of the physician and attenuate what is depleting. The joy and satisfaction in work have prevailed over the challenges enabling the physicians to sustain a lifelong commitment to service. Biomedis had gone an extra mile for the "caring" of individuals or human beings we called patients, thus the commitment to carry on a goal to improve the perception of medicine in our communities. As physicians involved in the advocacy our commitment is always there to make that change in our patient's life, and how we can address his illness and disease.
Biomedis should stay clear and never get itself derailed by "individuals"(that are only interested in their own personal agenda, and had loss track of the main mission and vision of this great company) that had already caused some rift between caring physicians that are willing enough to do dedicated service to the company and its advocacy (JOC). As caring physicians who wanted to make a big change in the world we live in we already made commitments to be cell leaders and advocates to "Bring Back Life to MEDICINE". Never in the history of the Philippines there's such a motivation in "caring" for the sick and the ill without strings attached as what BIOMEDIS is doing. Indeed, it is a true commitment to change attitudes of practicing physicians and improve Filipino lives with this advocacy. The JOY of CARING, has gone way beyond from the field of practice back to the classrooms of our first year medical students. So for my fellow medical practitioners in Metro Iloilo the JOC "bug" is just around the corner, let's spread the infectious process of sharing LOVE, JOY, HAPPINESS and CARING among our patients.