Monday, October 1, 2012

Ethics Professors, I think I'm finally getting you.

Had an interesting presentation in my ethics class. Typically the class is taught by two lawyers who rotate out, and I have found their aggression irritating. One likes to rant about how "professional athletes", "professional hit men", and "professional sex workers" have ruined the title of "profession" which should only be used for doctors, lawyers, engineers, and what ever other acceptable upper crust job that parents push their children towards. The other told us if that if they were the one grading the essay questions, that they would fail half the class in our small group. And with one test accounting for 40% of your grade, that's part of the reason I went sort of nutso last week. This is despite the fact that ethics does not tax the brain anywhere close to the way pathology does for the most of us, and the die hard aggression didn't feel necessary. One on one, these are fine people to talk to, but inside of class time...sand paper on skin.

So the guest lecturer today was a physician who had been on both sides of medical errors. Making and taking. And truthfully, it's hard to listen to someone tell you that you are going to fail some day, and that you will hurt someone. Probably scar them for life. This man was matched and surpassed the intensity of our previous professors, pushing back into the isles, picking random people, and demanding on the spot answers. One student was caught off guard and he completely ripped into them.

But once the meat of the lecture started, he made great points. When an error happens on your fault, you've got to make yourself completely available to that patient. Become completely accessible 24/7 to them. Make house calls after your hours. Let them be a priority in your life and do what ever it takes to face the issue head on. Not because of malpractice, but for your personal healing. Because when the error comes, you're going to feel isolated, wanting to crawl into a hole out of shame. But you've got to follow that patient through to the end to get closure together. That I can really get behind.

I took back my reservations about the anger and aggression that has been steaming off my ethics professors when I looked at this man. There was sense. They were angry, bitter even. But they're doing it this way because they've seen things. Yet they came from a generation where ethics was not even taught. Everything was learned in the field. I believe they are moved deeply to scrape off a bit of that green before we step into whatever it is they've seen. And irritated with their class or not, that fury is fueled by an attachment to us. Because they once were young and fresh too.

I have to appreciate that. So thank you. I will now save my angst for neurosurgeons who make "It's not brain surgery" jokes whilst lightly bestowing themselves a single pat on the chest or wrist at the same time. Seriously dudes. Cut that shit out.

No comments:

Post a Comment