Trading Places, Becoming One

“Hey Doc” calls to us in an almost cheeky tone, its colloquial informality at first seeming to challenge the stereotypically aloof physician. Common-man “John,” as the speaker of the poem declares he prefers to be called, seeks to commune on more humanistic terms with his physician-interlocu tor, invoking Aristotle and Ptolemy, classical thinkers whose writings bridge high-minded science and universalizing art. A twist in the poem occurs midway, where the speaker and the physician trade places, becoming one: “When you descended into//hell, whose heavenly hand reached you?” (note the plunge to hell across the stanza break). Here we infer the speaker is a physician addressing himself reflectively after becoming ill, and the poem becomes a gentle admonishment against what perhaps he realizes was his own past arrogant detachment from patients. The interpretation is buttressed by “ The old adage, ‘Physician, heal thyself,” Jesus’ oft-quoted caution against hypocrisy; besides calling himself out for his own shortcomings, the speaker also reminds us of the wounded healer archetype, famed psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s proposed model for the motivation of many entering the hea lth professions, which posits it is our own painful experiences that inspire us to try to alleviate others’ suffering. “Hey Doc,” in a voice founded on a bedrock appreciation of shared humanity, and arising from illness experience that reinforces humility and remembers what draws us to th...
Source: JAMA - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research