Molding A Healer
One place that has molded me into the healer I became was Apayao Provincial Hospital and it is one place I will never forget. Not only were the people there warm and friendly (in fact they are like family to me) but the limited resources and complete autonomy I had, as a physician in that place, was a turning point in my career. My reflections here are about the things I learned in this special place.
My autonomy as the only doctor working in a 25 bed secondary hospital actually enhanced my skills as a healer and further developed my clinical eye.
There were times when I was the only doctor within a hundred kilometer radius. Back when I started off practicing within the National Capital Region, I worked in hospitals that have complete diagnostic equipment and a whole array of specialist consultants, which made me dependent on them to make decisions in patient management.
Evidence-based medicine was what we were taught in medical school and we were all trained in rigid protocols that were literally pounded on us. Nothing gets treated or diagnosed without a whole barrage of laboratory tests! Doctors get too dependent on labs and protocols to make a crucial treatment decision, which is actually correct as all bases are covered. More information, less mistakes.
However, science has ensured that everything is based on evidence and clinical practice guidelines leaving little room for doctors to really analyze a patient’s situation. I view this as taking the art away from medicine. Working with very few, if any, resources, I learned that the most important thing was to help my patients at all costs and sometimes these interventions may go beyond prescribed guidelines. I was willing to do anything and everything as long as it did not harm my patients in any way.
Not to dwell on limited resources, one of the most important lessons I learned was compassion. The people of Apayao are truly deprived of accessible healthcare, something that many people in cities like Manila take for granted.
Most patients would spend hours walking through the jungle and mountains just to see a doctor. It is by their sheer devotion to maintaining good health is what has astounded me as a healer and I happily learned to ensure that their long journey to see me was worth the trouble.
Just a few minutes of genuine compassion and empathy stays with them for a long time and I do see the great sense of gratitude they all have with a gentle touch of my hand. Patients are obedient and truly respect the advice of doctors like myself without question. I wish I could say the same for the patients I see in the city who would rather buy unwarranted drugs over the counter or waste my time by arguing with me over information they researched over the Internet.
Sadly, compassion is a virtue that is a dying one in the field of medicine. Too many doctors spend their time perfecting their skills and practice without truly looking at the real picture. Patients have become an object of practice or financial reward but this is in reality a distorted view of what doctors should aspire to become.
Not everything can be healed by medicine alone. A gentle touch, an assuring smile or maybe even a good laugh has done wonders for many of the patients I have had the privilege to interact with. The mere fact that a doctor would take the time to sit back and analyze a case without thinking about who to refer to is what these patients appreciated most.
I do recall that in my first few weeks, I was always finding reasons not to treat patients whom I labeled as “toxic”. Given that the nearest referral hospital I had was over four hours away, I was more than willing to risk a patient’s life by having them make that long arduous trip than to sit back and see what I can do for them with the resources I had.
There were times that patients could not understand why I was sending them away. They usually would say “but you’re a doctor…why can’t you treat us?” Very few of them understood the concept of specialists as they were all brought up to believe that doctors could cure anything. That resounding realization was what had me hitting the books and improvising treatment to help patients on the spot. Only when I was absolutely sure that a patient would benefit more in being treated at a larger hospital would I send them away.
While they were in my care I made sure that they got the best medical treatment I could give. Aside from competent medical knowledge, I threw in a generous amount of compassion and concern for their lives and well-being. There I saw amazing results in the holistic healing approach I had learned by trial and error.
There will always be a special place in my heart for the Province of Apayao as it was the place that truly molded me into a compassionate healer. I came to Apayao due to the financial gain the job offered and I left with so much more. I braved the sixteen-hour journey in search of solace and I left the place with a renewed soul and sense of purpose.
I moved on from there with the realization that diagnostic equipment, years of specialized training and degrees do not make a good doctor.
Boldness, compassion, competence and care are what make a healer great.
This is a lost art that I surprisingly found in this remote place and it is something I will be sure to take with me for the rest of my life.
Till next time :)
