The Letter as Therapy …

Somewhere there is a quote about the therapeutic benefits of writing a letter. The editors of Medscape recently asked me to write a note for medical students. I am glad they did. It helped me. Reflecting on what we electrophysiologists do for people boosted my morale. It made me think about our core mission. The incessant bloat of administrative nonsense often overshadows our real job–caring for people. Admin-speak sounds less and less like English. You should know morale among doctors has never been lower. I enjoy a great setup at work, but even my morale dips occasionally–almost always it’s due to the nonsense, the distractions. The doctor-morale problem has many causes. The biggest factor, I believe, are the many intrusions into the patient-doctor bond. A recent study of medical learners in Switzerland reported that young doctors spend three times more time with computers than with patients. But it’s not just archaic software. Another farce: quality measures have nearly morphed into alternate facts. Viz, many things done in the name of quality surely reduce quality. Anyone who touches patients knows this. Cubicle doctors don’t. Anyways… Here is my short note to the youngsters: Dear Learner, I hear you are considering a career in cardiology. Great. We need more young people to care for one of the world’s most common ailments. The first thing to know about cardiology is that you don’t have be a genius. My wife, Staci, who is a ...
Source: Dr John M - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: blogs