Philobiblon

… unless she really wants to go.

A recent visit to the GP (“family” doctor as I believe you’d say in the US) left me musing on how many people ill-suited to the role end up in it. There’d been an odd note in the receptionist’s voice when she said “I’ve an appointment with Doctor X?” and when I met this doctor I knew why. He reminded me of another doctor I knew in Bangkok who was a brilliant diagnostician but had no bedside manner whatsoever, capable of saying things that reduced patients to tears. (Along the lines of “well you obviously shouldn’t be with that boyfriend then, should you?”)

The fact is, the role of a general practitioner involves mostly dealing with people – speaking kindly to them , trying to disabuse them of odd notions, reassuring them. It requires empathy, people skills, not blinding intelligence. In fact this is likely to be a disadvantage, because you’ll quickly get fed up with all of the stupid things people say to you.

Which is why it is sad that so many bright people are pushed into studying medicine. (I think of a schoolfriend who wanted to study physics and astronomy, but was pushed by her parents to “be a doctor”, because that was the highest status, and best-paying, thing they knew.)

Even I – patently unsuited to being a doctor – felt some of this pressure, which thank the heavens I had the sense to reject. (I played with the idea of doing vet science instead, but a stint working in a vet’s fixed that, when I realised that what it mostly required was dealing with owners rather than animals.)