Patch Adams: What It Really Means to Be a Doctor
Medicine and being a doctor can be very tiring and it can take a really big part of your life, but once you really love your job, your patients, your team, medicine will give you everything you need.
In my opinion, being a doctor is not only about treating diseases, about drugs and protocols, but it is also about healing the soul and the mind and once you decide to fully dedicate to medicine you will be capable of healing your mind and soul too while helping the others. Medicine is also about team work and having colleagues who feel like they are family. Hunter Patch Adams says ‘I wanted to become a doctor so I could serve others. And because of that, I've lost everything. But I've also gained everything. I've shared the lives of patients and staff members at the hospital. I've laughed with them. I've cried with them. This is what I want to do with my life.’
On the one hand, being a doctor takes a very big part of your life, but it worths it when you see you helped people who were suffering, when you see your patients smiling and feeling better. These things make you forget how much of your life you have to sacrifice and give you a huge satisfaction. It is amazing to have such a great impact on someone’s life, that’s why doctors should treat the mind and soul, not only the body and once a doctor understands that I think he’ll be capable of treating a disease more efficiently, he’ll be capable of amazing things. For example, Patch Adams had his own way to make patients feel better, he used humour and love, while showing respect for them. He made people laugh and this helped them forget about their illness. It is shown that positivity and mental health have a great impact when it comes to recover from a disease. He loved his patients and colleagues and they loved him too, they were always happy to see him and this made Patch Adams feel like he had everything, he had the biggest satisfaction one can have, he loved his career in medicine, he gained his happiness from making others happy. This is how much you can do when you stop being indifferent and decide to fully dedicate.
On the other hand, getting too attached can be harmful sometimes, especially when the illness of a patient is getting worse day by day. That’s when you have to be strong because you can’t appear in front of our patients and seem sad or afraid and also you have to be strong for yourself in order to be able to think clearly and positively so that you can find solutions and treat other patients too. Everyhing should be kept in a balance when it comes to being a good doctor. At the same time you have to understand that even if you get along very well with your colleagues, they can have bad days or moods and this should not affect you, because working in a team with them has to be as efficient as possible in order to save lives, also working in a team means helping each other, so you have to understand and help them. Another aspect every doctor should know is that not every member of the staff will be a good friend or will have good intentions and this should not affect your work.
In conclusion, being a doctor is helping others and ourselves at the same time. This job can give the satisfaction others jobs can’t and can offer a tremendous amount of information that will be used to save lives. As long as you know how to manage it and keep everything in a balance and as long as you love what you are doing, medicine will give you everything.
