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Doctors are a unique type. So excruciatingly educated. So utterly disconnected.

rsyring 2y ago
They have different priorities, especially with major interventions. First priority, make sure you don't die. Sleep and recovery are down the list a bit. Disconnected? Probably. But I think that's intended and part of the current medical model. It's not necessarily a bad thing when focusing on long term positive outcomes in aggregate. But it certainly feels inhumane at times to the individual and their loved ones.
- derefr 2y ago
  > First priority, make sure you don't die. Sleep and recovery are down the list a bit. But lack of sleep can impair immunity and disturb blood pressure and heart rhythm. Keeping someone with major trauma under stress (like being constantly awake) can make them more likely to die.
  - adrianN 2y ago
    Everything in medicine is a tradeoff
- jvanderbot 2y ago
  We never once saw a doctor. It was all nurses, mandatory education, paperwork, blood tests, vital checks, moving rooms, etc. At one point we were trying to sleep and a breastfeeding assistant stopped by. Super helpful that they can stop by, but jeez just coordinate for a 4 hour block where we're not disturbed.
gyomu 2y ago
It's a weird state of affairs. I spent a lot of time around doctors through family and an (ex) significant other, and my take is that you just can’t absorb the quantity of material they have to, and do the quantity of things that is required of them, without becoming a bit disconnected as a result. The fact that med school + residency means you basically have to put your life on hold throughout all of your 20s while other people are figuring out the whole “being a young adult in the world” thing leads to very… particular emotional development. Medical school doesn’t particularly encourage questioning the status quo or established practices. Some of them can recalibrate after a few years in the real world, but many never really escape that bubble. It’s hard to radically change your outlook on life in your 30s (let alone when you now have to repay huge debt, in the case of many American doctors)
- parpfish 2y ago
  a lot of doctors were a bit “off” before med school starts. Many of premed kids I knew in undergrad (or the high schoolers aspiring to premed) weren’t motivated by scientific pursuits or an altruistic desires - they just had to be the best. They needed to ace every test (and would argue incessantly with the teachers about it), they had to be in the hardest classes, etc. they became doctors because somebody told them it was hard and well respected. I imagine that those people become doctors that are disconnected from their patients.
  - thimkerbell 2y ago
    There used to be fewer clear paths to excelling. Lawyer, doctor, professor.
    - parpfish 2y ago
      Do you want to be: - Rich and respected -> doctor - Rich but not respected -> lawyer, software - Not rich but respected -> professor
      - matheusmoreira 2y ago
        > Rich and respected -> doctor A lot of people are going to be disappointed. Truth is medicine is a decadent profession, worldwide. In some countries, it's in free fall and accelerating to terminal velocity. In some parts of the world, doctors are hated to the point they routinely suffer physical violence. The US manages to keep it relevant by restricting supply and maintaining its elite status but I'm not sure doctors are still respected there. Plenty of hackers who think they can do it better than the doctors right here on HN. I'm a programmer myself and I know for a fact a computer could do significant parts of the job. Even psychiatry is in danger due to LLMs.
        klabb3 2y ago
        > I'm a programmer myself and I know for a fact a computer could do significant parts of the job. A computer does a massive part of almost any job today, so I’m not sure what exactly this is trying to say about the profession. Wait until you hear that pilots can’t even fly without an airplane. Total conmen.
vbezhenar 2y ago
They encounter a lot of suffering and some of them encounter deaths. Disconnecting themselves from the patients is one way of staying sane.
- swayvil 2y ago
  Hey I watched that tv show too. With the charismatic head doctor and the brilliant yet quirky interns. Small world.
- bityard 2y ago
  Parent meant disconnecting from the big picture of what it means to heal and be healthy, not specifically emotional connections with patients.

They have different priorities, especially with major interventions. First priority, make sure you don't die. Sleep and recovery are down the list a bit. Disconnected? Probably. But I think that's intended and part of the current medical model. It's not necessarily a bad thing when focusing on long term positive outcomes in aggregate. But it certainly feels inhumane at times to the individual and their loved ones.

derefr 2y ago
> First priority, make sure you don't die. Sleep and recovery are down the list a bit. But lack of sleep can impair immunity and disturb blood pressure and heart rhythm. Keeping someone with major trauma under stress (like being constantly awake) can make them more likely to die.
- adrianN 2y ago
  Everything in medicine is a tradeoff
jvanderbot 2y ago
We never once saw a doctor. It was all nurses, mandatory education, paperwork, blood tests, vital checks, moving rooms, etc. At one point we were trying to sleep and a breastfeeding assistant stopped by. Super helpful that they can stop by, but jeez just coordinate for a 4 hour block where we're not disturbed.

gyomu 2y ago

It's a weird state of affairs. I spent a lot of time around doctors through family and an (ex) significant other, and my take is that you just can’t absorb the quantity of material they have to, and do the quantity of things that is required of them, without becoming a bit disconnected as a result. The fact that med school + residency means you basically have to put your life on hold throughout all of your 20s while other people are figuring out the whole “being a young adult in the world” thing leads to very… particular emotional development. Medical school doesn’t particularly encourage questioning the status quo or established practices. Some of them can recalibrate after a few years in the real world, but many never really escape that bubble. It’s hard to radically change your outlook on life in your 30s (let alone when you now have to repay huge debt, in the case of many American doctors)

parpfish 2y ago
a lot of doctors were a bit “off” before med school starts. Many of premed kids I knew in undergrad (or the high schoolers aspiring to premed) weren’t motivated by scientific pursuits or an altruistic desires - they just had to be the best. They needed to ace every test (and would argue incessantly with the teachers about it), they had to be in the hardest classes, etc. they became doctors because somebody told them it was hard and well respected. I imagine that those people become doctors that are disconnected from their patients.
- thimkerbell 2y ago
  There used to be fewer clear paths to excelling. Lawyer, doctor, professor.
  - parpfish 2y ago
    Do you want to be: - Rich and respected -> doctor - Rich but not respected -> lawyer, software - Not rich but respected -> professor
    - matheusmoreira 2y ago
      > Rich and respected -> doctor A lot of people are going to be disappointed. Truth is medicine is a decadent profession, worldwide. In some countries, it's in free fall and accelerating to terminal velocity. In some parts of the world, doctors are hated to the point they routinely suffer physical violence. The US manages to keep it relevant by restricting supply and maintaining its elite status but I'm not sure doctors are still respected there. Plenty of hackers who think they can do it better than the doctors right here on HN. I'm a programmer myself and I know for a fact a computer could do significant parts of the job. Even psychiatry is in danger due to LLMs.
      - klabb3 2y ago
        > I'm a programmer myself and I know for a fact a computer could do significant parts of the job. A computer does a massive part of almost any job today, so I’m not sure what exactly this is trying to say about the profession. Wait until you hear that pilots can’t even fly without an airplane. Total conmen.

vbezhenar 2y ago

They encounter a lot of suffering and some of them encounter deaths. Disconnecting themselves from the patients is one way of staying sane.

swayvil 2y ago
Hey I watched that tv show too. With the charismatic head doctor and the brilliant yet quirky interns. Small world.
bityard 2y ago
Parent meant disconnecting from the big picture of what it means to heal and be healthy, not specifically emotional connections with patients.