Call the doctor QUICK!!! |
"Mommy, mommy, I am sick! Call the doctor very quick!" 
Doctors. They save lives. They change lives. Twenty years ago, a family could have lost their first born if not of the doctors who tried to save the life of their precious son. My friend was declared clinically dead after he was born. But through the hope and persistence of the doctors that the baby still have a chance of breathing his first gasp for air, they tried to revive the mother’s offspring. And now, my friend had been a blessing to his family, being loved and taken cared of.
Another child could have cried a pail of tears if one day, he just woke up finding his father dead. Without his knowledge, his father was confined to a hospital because of dengue. He was not informed by his family that his father’s life was already at stake, but because of the doctors, another life was saved again. Another family still complete.
These are just two cases of lives, and families who are saved and changed. Doctors signify renewal and chance to start all over again. But what happens when they fail in saving lives and opening windows for renewal and chances? Can they live with the guilt that a life was lost because of their failure? 
Every doctor must have made (?) to accept the burden of their responsibility as caretakers of life and wellness. Their obligation exceeds the call of their profession. It’s not anymore about making a living but making people live their lives and change the course of their journey towards renewal. However, their profession does not promise that they can cure and save everyone. They are there to give CHANCES - not a GUARANTEE.
Medical practiitoners have to detach themselves and to avoid being involved personally. Investing emotions on their profession would literally drive them crazy because they have multiple patients to care for. Getting upset for an inevitable failure of making the natural thing (death) impossible would deprive the other patients of the care a doctor could have given them. The thoughts and judgement of an emotionaly burdened doctor or practitioner can become clouded. Therefore, their other patients are robbed of what is due to them.
I’ve got the chance to find the answers to my thoughts through talking to medical practitioners and ordinary folks. An 18-year old practicing student says "Let the dead go, or else you are of NO USE to the living". He experienced greater confusion, much more beyond depression, after realizing they just lost the life of a "real live man" whom they spent six hours in the room, trying to fight death off him.
I found these lines as I try to understand the different perceptions of people about doctors failing in their objective:
"The best of medicine is no guarantee against death. Eventually, everybody dies. This does not mean we don’t do our VERY BEST to keep people alive who can be kept alive, but once our best has failed, we need to RESET. We need to ALLOW the natural to happen. We need to ABSOLVE ourselves from trying to change the impossible. We need to FORGIVE ourselves for any mistakes we might have made. We need to STRENGTHEN ourselves to go on and be of use to the next patient. We need to learn to DISCONNECT and get a DISTANCE from our normal emotions in order to continue to be of service."
Now, as ordinary folks, we are all made to understand that their putting on the line more of what we think they do. They are not machines. They know failures. They know frustrations. They are humans called to a vocation of renewing lives, giving chances. 
- To the Doctors who saved lives.
- To the Patients who were given the chance.
- To the Families who are hoping.
- Best regards.
"As artists think alike…" and company.
Please leave some comments.
that’s why it’s never in my mind to be a doctor one day… I can’t do that… even if I have enough money to send myself in harvard school of medicine, even if I can be expert in my specialization… I still cannot afford myself seeing patients die…. the emotions will kill me…
Comment by Leigh — February 29, 2008 @ 11:51 am
Hi papa borls!!!
Comment by taga 2A — February 29, 2008 @ 12:23 pm
doctors are symbol of hope… nice article… care to exchange link?
Comment by jac — February 29, 2008 @ 12:45 pm
galing bro! Me too, i ca’t take the emotional burden of seeing my patients die… Right from when I was a kid, I never wanted any of those medical courses because aside from being afraid of blood, I am an emotional freak. Nice entry you have here bro! Keep it up!
Comment by ate honey — February 29, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
hmmm.. yeah right! actually why I thought of thinking about this kind of article was when I was able to watch one of FPJs films entitled “Ang Dalubhasa”.. I didn’t cry though, but I could still feel the frustrations deep inside.. Just like me, I hate seeing someone dying or just even crying in front of me.. It gives me the thought, “I could have done something to help him/her”..
(
Comment by Ronald Borla — February 29, 2008 @ 4:35 pm
you’ve got nice comments for the article!!! jejeje
Comment by cathchix — February 29, 2008 @ 4:37 pm
Nice article. I myself somewhat feel sad for my patients who experience a very terrible disease. I feel happy for those who get discharged even though I have taken care of them for just 8 hours. At least I feel happy that in my care, they were fine and it contributed for them to get well.
Comment by dChen — February 29, 2008 @ 6:25 pm
@dChen I suppose you’re a Nurse-Soon-To-Be right? hmmm… yeah.. i do believe you can completely relate on this ONLY when the time comes you experience such a thing..
Comment by Ronald Borla — February 29, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
really thoughtful & nice article… doctors are also human. They will always do their very best.
Comment by Zhoe wynz — February 29, 2008 @ 6:32 pm
HAHAHAHHA… pa 2A pa human claro kaau ang url.. hehehe.. aus kaau tag article da… patok kaau bah….
Comment by 2a daw ko — February 29, 2008 @ 10:01 pm
thanks for dropping by in my blog
care to xlinks?
Comment by wildcatlady — February 29, 2008 @ 11:48 pm
hmmm.. ate nako last yr unta doctor na kaso nag stop. sayang kayo. lol
Comment by karLpOx — March 1, 2008 @ 12:29 am
Asa naman ang winners?????
Comment by AlRitch — March 1, 2008 @ 5:02 am
yet another very interesting post you got here ronald
Comment by Patrick — March 1, 2008 @ 7:25 pm
Well said Borla… hawda ui. From what I’ve seen at the ward, the doctors do act like machines. They drop by once or twice a day to see their patients, give out orders to the nurses, and then leave. If they do care, then they have an uncanny way of showing it. Or rather - not showing it. But you’re right, it’s probably best not to get their emotions in the way. I’m guessing those who’ve been doctors for some time now have learned to keep their emotions in check. At least they get the job done, right? hehe… And re: your title. Doctors don’t come quick, they come at their own pace… unless they hear a “code blue/red” and/or a panicky voice at the other end of the speaker.
p.s. The paragraph that’s in quotations, where’s it from? Me likey.
Comment by Rein — March 1, 2008 @ 11:33 pm
hmmmm.. i hope you don’t end up blaming doctors that they don’t care about their patients.. actually i would like to stress that this job is superbly heroic… but my main idea is that, they do save lives, but, just understand them when they fail someone.. doctors won’t care for reputation.. but they care about lives… so if they fail, they don’t really get depressed for the reason that they no longer have the credibility to become medically professional… BUT for the reason that “THEY COULD HAVE DONE THEIR BEST TO SAVE THE LIVES OF THEIR PATIENTS, BUT THEY JUST DIDN’T” because they’re only humans.. maybe at some other point, not all doctors have the thought that they have to control their emotions (especially when they’re just new to the medical world).. but of course, they don’t want to live their lives full of frustrations.. it’s not escaping, but they only understand that it’s the profession they have to live by.. i thought of having this entitled “Doctors do feel pain”… anyway, i hope you do got my point.. i just want everybody to realize how great their jobs are… (^^,)
Comment by Ronald Borla — March 1, 2008 @ 11:49 pm
nice article! Keep it coming ^_^
Comment by soreal — March 2, 2008 @ 9:53 am
haha, I don’t disagree with that. I’m just saying that they really do appear not at all that caring, especially the docs who’ve been practicing for quite some time. Of course their job is “heroic” - they save lives! You and I are on the same pane here, my comment was more of a superficial observation of what I’ve seen at the hospital.
I don’t think this is always true, though:
Comment by Rein — March 2, 2008 @ 1:19 pm
toinks! unsaon pag butang ug quote?? hahaha! di pwede i-edit?!
I don’t think this is always true, though: BUT for the reason that “THEY COULD HAVE DONE THEIR BEST TO SAVE THE LIVES OF THEIR PATIENTS, BUT THEY JUST DIDN’T”
That was the quote I was reffering to on my previous post. Sorry, HTML illiterate here…
Comment by Rein — March 2, 2008 @ 1:26 pm
When you have other people’s lives on the line, you always do your best. But some things are just beyond man’s control. Life is like that: shit happens. And if or when they do fail to save a patient because of an oversight or an error they’ve made, I think that’s when your point would apply. If otherwise: that they did all that they could do, then I see no reason why they would get depressed about it. Maybe “depressed” isn’t the right word here. I highly doubt they would feel that way… maybe another word that has a lesser connotation would be more apt. Anyway… what about my post script, eh?You mean this Rein? hehe.. I was assuming “they failed” at that part… tsk3
Comment by Ronald Borla — March 2, 2008 @ 5:40 pm
Call the doctor QUICK!!!
Doctors save lives, but sometimes, they fail. But this doesn’t end here. As human as they are, it’s always expected they could feel sad when they failed to saved lives. Understand how they would feel and how great their jobs are.
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