Doctors: Heroes & Healers
March 2019 Being a Hero Discovery of Penicillin appears to be that milestone in Medicine which marked a shift in the psyche of doctors. The feeling of being able to avert death, which had always loomed so close, had been empowering. Doctors since have felt and even been treated like "heroes". Armed with antibiotics, so many advanced surgeries were being successfully completed. And we were able to "fix" the human body in increasingly sophisticated ways. Pharmaceuticals have become our super-weapons and medical training is not much different than training for the armed forces. There is pride associated with being a warrior, a hero. Sacrifice and martyrdom is endorsed and even memorialized. What is the down side then? Medicine has always been a "noble" profession. And while helping the sick feel better was the ultimate goal, somehow "curing the disease" has become the new goal. And again why is that bad?! some may ask