By Manuel M. Quiñones, Jr., MD
BCMS President 2008
Rearing back, I sat here thinking about a former medical student I knew. A few years ago, Mark was a student that I mentored. I took him everywhere with me that winter – to hospital meetings, on nursing home visits, even on weekday and weekend rounds in the hospital. He attended a contested hearing on a former employee’s unemployment claim; he was exposed to the full gamut of physician responsibilities. And, I even took Mark quail hunting!
Mark had rotated through as a second- year med student doing a primary care rotation. He came from a small family and had serious issues about his life in medicine when I first came to know him. Mark had married soon after starting medical school and was still dealing with the sudden loss of a parent to cancer. He had no idea what specialty would attract him the most, but was leaning towards primary care.
I had sincere doubts that he would make it through his second year, much less graduate. He had come close to failing two of his Core Rotations and the school had placed him in a remedial program. Mark was strongly considering another profession. He is a beautiful person – idealistic and realistic, and an altruist in every sense of the word.
Sincere with a strong work ethic, he is also a devoted husband. He knew God and knew that God had a plan for him; he was hopeful that he could live up to that destiny. All I did was to tell him to have faith, to work as hard as he could to learn everything he had to learn, and to trust his instincts. I helped him understand that if he was here, he was here for a reason. I tried hard to be a good example of his future life, and prayed that I had done enough.
When I saw Mark again, in April, I was ecstatic – he was inviting me to his graduation! He hugged me hard with tears freely flowing as he told me how important I had been in his life. I finally got to meet his lovely bride who had stayed by his side throughout everything. I met his proud, lovely mother and understood the source of his warmth, empathy and love of humanity. I felt as if I had already met his father when I witnessed his solid work habits, devotion to goals and determination to succeed.
I already had seen God’s light in him and knew he was destined to be a great doctor. And, I felt a tremendous weight fall from my shoulders knowing that I had paid for the gift which I received earlier in my life.
How many Marks have you known? How have you helped your Marks, and what do they think of you today? How will you be remembered when your Marks are asked questions about persons who helped to make them great?
When I was in school, I had some tremendously powerful mentors. One of my greatest influences was the Assistant Dean of Baylor College of Medicine. Aside from my parents, I learned more from Major Bradshaw, about being a caring doctor and a great person, than from any other single human being. I don’t even think he knew it, but he taught me one of the most powerful messages I have ever received; he delivered it sitting on his back porch, feet up, sun going down and sharing a Pearl Light. That’s when I decided that I, too, would have a back porch. I just never learned to like Pearl Light.
Major Bradshaw taught me that when it’s all said and done, no patient will care if the Marks of the world passed Biochemistry and Pharmacology the first time. Very few will ever ask for your rank in your graduating class, and most won’t even care where you went to medical school. But if you care for your patients like family, they will take care of you, love you, respect you and defend you.
The universal yardstick patients use to compare us is, “How much do you care?” Do you not only care for your patients, but for your Marks and for your professions? “Doctor, are you listening to me? Are you in the room with me? Do you even care about me?” That is what makes you a Great Doctor. That is how you will be measured. You can teach a monkey to treat otitis media, but only you care how much it hurts and whether or not Mom finally got some= sleep that night.
Being a ‘doctor’ is a gift that society has bestowed upon you – to share knowledge, wisdom and experience in helping to alleviate suffering and to promote a higher quality of life. It is a gift that allows the sharing of familiarity (intimacy) and empathy. A bi-directional process is established – I will tell you everything about my life, my problems and my concerns if you think that you can help me. I will tell you things that I have never told to another human being, if you care to listen to me. Do you care?
Caring is the foundation upon which the evolution and metamorphosis which must occur in Medicine will be based – how much do doctors care? It’s not a political question, an election year trophy or a battering ram. It shouldn’t be a question that is turned into a weapon to help a candidate capture votes – “If you really care about your patients like you said you do, then...” It’s about you and me and how ready we are to adapt to a system which may call for drastic changes in our lifestyles and motivation, and it may even drive some of us out of business. But, do you care enough to adapt to a new world for the benefit of your patients and your profession, or is it all about you? Do you care enough to get involved? Do you care enough to allow your personal ambitions and aspirations to carry us to the next level? Think about it.
Over the next few months, I will share some opinions and ideas about where I think Medicine has to go over the next 4 to 6 years. You may not agree with me, I may anger you and you may realize that I am not lock-step behind everyone else; but, I will make you think. I may even make you care about our future. And that’s what I promised to do here this year – to make you think and hopefully care about who we are and what we do.
From MY back porch, feet up and sun going down, I am your President, Manny Quinones.
