Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Marcus Welby vs House MD

When my dad had colon cancer, he said that he wanted to have a doctor like Dr Gregory House; someone who will solve the puzzle of the disease no matter what it takes. My dad was pretty all right with House's brand of caustic acerbicism, and felt that his manic competency will outweigh any and every personality drawbacks that he have. What he got was a surgeon who was brutally honest about the treatment options and is kick ass to boot. So that was cool.

For all that Dr House saves the day (for the most part), when we are sick we don't want someone who mocks us about the poor choices we made that hurts our health or someone who runs rough-shod over our feelings. We want someone who listens and give us the advice we need with no judgment whatsoever. I am sure that all of us have had experiences with medical professionals who treat us with disrespect, annoyingly condescending and out-and-out uncaring about our pain. However, this article gave me hope that there are still doctors out there who still give their all to their calling and made their patients' life a little better all around. However, questions have been raised on whether this personal touch is impairing their judgment and affects their professional conduct adversely. Even the American Medical Association's Principle of Medical Ethics demur on treating family and friends.

Well, it should be up to the physician to decide on the lines to be drawn and crossed when it comes to arranging his/her personal and professional life, isn't it? And let's hope the ones whom we have to deal with does this in a way that makes our doctor's visit nothing like having a toe nail removed.

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