“. . . For the secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient.”

“These words, burned indelibly into the minds of generations of medical students, closed a lecture given by Francis W. Peabody to Harvard students on October 21, 1925” (N Engl J Med 1993; 328:817-818).

Still Striving to Be the Best

Yesterday, I noted how difficult it is to ‘get away from it all.’ Both technology and empathy are to blame.  The flip side of the message is that I still want to be the best.

In medical school I was eager to read so many books that discussed what it meant to be a physician.  Now having worked as a physician for 20 years I have my own thoughts.  On an abstract level, it is easy to say that you want to be the best physician. To accomplish the task, you work really hard, you read everything you can, you listen intently, and you set aside enough time to think carefully.

Yet, that still is not enough.  As a practical matter, it is not so easy to be the best at anything.  The biggest problem is that there are other people who are really terrific. How can I be the best when there is always someone smarter, funnier, and more empathetic?   In medical school, I was given a few pieces of advice:

‘After 5 years of practice, all of your patients will love you….those that don’t will see someone else.’

 

‘There are three A’s to being a great physician.  Availability, affability, and ability.  Since most people have difficulty judging ability, you will probably be judged more on the first two.’

Perhaps, the logical conclusion is that I might be the best physician for some patients and not for others.  At this point, I will have to be content with knowing that I am still trying to be as good as I can be.

“When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.” Leo Burnett

If you are a reading this blog, what are you doing to be the best?