Doctoring Requires A Loss Of Freedom

It hit me all the sudden.  The feeling of calm washed over my body as I relaxed my torso and let my legs stretch forward in the passenger's seat.  My wife was driving and the kids were in the back.  I had just signed out, and taken off my pager for the holiday weekend.  I knew the feeling was false.  The phone calls would eventually come whether I was covering or not.  And they did.  The nursing home was a responsibility that was mine only. Freedom. I can't imagine someone outside of medicine understanding this empirically.  The act of doctoring requires a certain loss of freedom.  When we open our doors to those who seek us, we close our lives to restfulness.  Gone are the lazy days in the backyard hammock without a care in the world.  Yep, I said it.  Taking care of people is a burden.  A wonderful calling and a privilege, but a burden none the less.  And one of the consequences of taking on this great privilege is that you will never quite escape the covenant which you have signed up to fulfill.  Weekends, holidays, vacations, they have all been interrupted by unexpected emergencies.  I accept this responsibility and have long ago forgotten how to lament the loss of placidity. But sometimes, for a moment, I forget.  My mind a drift on the hope that comes with an uncommon day of rest in the middle of the week, I escape the beloved chains of the ende...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - Category: Family Physicians Authors: Source Type: blogs