The article discusses how Kate, after watching the hectic lifestyles her father and grandfather led while trying to run private practices, came to the conclusion that she wanted to have more control over her life and schedule, and because of this picked to work in an ER rather than her own practice. It discusses the fast shift that is occurring between private practices, known for their hard and time-consuming work, to more hospital-run care. The article uses an interesting quote saying that, "Metaphorically, medicine has gone from being an individual to a team sport." It is interesting to see that new doctors, who dedicated their lives to help their patients, are finding new ways of doing so that doesn't involve sacrifices themselves for their job.
I think this is an important change that is necessary for the future of medicine. If doctors are to provide the best care possible, they must be willing to not hold so much control over their own patients and work together with other health-care professionals. Yet I think that there is a balancing act that is yet to be perfected in America's health care system. Most would agree that due to the difficulties faced with owning a private practice, doctors have switched to specialties or hospital-administered care. But currently it seems that the health care "corporations" are demanding too much of doctors in order to maximize patient-output and revenue. It seems that somehow a balance must be struck where doctors can still maintain the personal and necessary bonds needed in trusting someone with healthcare while also not overworking healthcare professionals.
One of the most interesting parts of the article is that the father and grandfather are interviewed to ask for their opinions on the change occurring in medicine. The father interestingly states that after hearing his daughter was going into Emergency medicine, " “On the one hand, it bothers me that the generation of doctors that my daughter is in doesn’t work as many hours and isn’t willing to do the stuff that I did,” he said. “On the other hand, I’m almost a little jealous.”
So what do you guys think? Is medicine heading in the right direction in terms of the demands placed on doctors? Is it even possible to strike a balance between personal patient care and not being overworked?
I think that this movement is definitely a change in a positive direction. Nobody benefits from having doctors who are overstressed, lacking sleep, and overworked. Doctors that have a more balanced personal life would tend to be more relaxed and better able to find creative solutions to problems that come up in the daily life of a doctor. I don't see how encouraging teamwork and cooperation could have any negative impacts on the care received by patients.
ReplyDelete