Without the White Coat
Healing for doctors
This is one subject that they never teach us in medical school. The doctors and physicians produced by medical schools follow certain culture and teachings either based in the traditional way of teaching medicine or some sort that is based in a medical problem, but never in both systems can we see healing that deals with the patient as a whole person. It is always taught in medical school to deal with each patient that we see and examine as a disease organ system, thus treatment is geared towards a compartmentalized organ system.
Some modules in healing are offered as a post graduate course or in a form of seminar or symposium, as physicians or doctors we never put a lot of emphasis on healing as part of patient care. We have never seen the effects that healing will bring to our patients and to their families. Healing is not directed to the patient alone, but to all the individuals that are taking care of him/her.
May it be an unresolved grief that will eventually lead to depression and low personnel esteem, the healing doctor is always there to address the problems. Medical school education and training have taught us that when pain and depression is seen all we have to do is refer that patient to a friendly psychiatrist, not knowing that if we were trained to do some "emotional healing" we ourselves as physicians can address the patient's problem. Bottom line is the subject of "human" interaction and communication, a simple subject that was entirely forgotten in medical school. Our mentors had never taught us to deal with grieving patients, not realizing that time alone doesn't heal, it is the main objective of the doctor/physician healer to address and help the patient resolve the pain. We all have to understand that grief is a natural response to any events so sad it maybe, like a death in the family, a separation in the family or an end to a relationship. As ordinary layman we never see the illness or subjective symptoms this depression or grief will bring about, like the occurrence of ulcers, hypertension, flu-like syndromes and other conditions. Again the medical school that we all enrolled in, had never taught us to identify and acknowledge the emotions associated with grief, and how to learn to live with a loss rather than be totally consumed by the whole situation.
As healing doctors there should be a total commitment to our patients, we should learn to listen to our patients and their family. First we should review the relationship of our patient to a loved one that has passed away, or from a job that he lost, a relationship that had ended, we should teach them how to cope effectively.
When listening to a patient it should be a nonjudgmental way which encourages the person to talk about his feelings. Conversations may start on finding out what circumstances have lead to a loss, how the person found out about the loss, and finally stories about the lost loved one. We should place in a much broader emotional perspective in hearing stories which are filled of beautiful memories that help us remember such beautiful and wonderful things. In cases of separations truthful memories are helpful. We should learn to evaluate relationship realistically, creating a time line of the relationship, and we should learn to categorize our memories and finally write something about it in a piece of paper so that it could not be easily forgotten.
We may all view healing differently from our own perspective, if we have all learn it in the early year of medical education then we can always apply it when time comes. The College of Medicine of Central Philippine University have started on this program as early as first year in medical school, asking the medical students his/her purpose as a physician/doctor. (No more topics on "Service for Humanity", which turns out to be a big "irony"). The purpose driven life had made us understand who we are and what we are up to on this earth. Every parent's decision on what institution to send their children will greatly affect the outcome of the medical graduate that will be produced. A word or two for the parents, please choose the best medical school for your children, a school that have a purpose, that will look upon excel for the Glory of GOD, a medical school that will give them back " Christian" doctors and physicians as a product of hardness in the medical education, and finally producing "healers".