Hupomeno: A Response To Doctor Shaming

This is a guest post by Katrina Rey, MD

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Our family bonds over exploration of toys at the mall. When light sabers went on sale, my husband bought a handful, having in mind the little boys of our family and friends who we often meet. So I just had to read this article by Ramona Vincent, titled “May the faith be with you: Using Star Wars to help Kids understand the Bible” . While reading, I could not help but relate the content of the article to the current issues in the field of my profession -to be specific, the issue of doctor shaming. Sadly, doctor shaming is not only done by those who are not in the medical field but also by colleagues.

See, the story of being a medical student, clerk, intern or resident, is similar to the story of Luke Skywalker, who, as the author puts “rose from humble beginnings… underwent rigorous training to prepare for the task set before him”. And the article goes on to correlate this with Jesus disciples who were also from humble roots – Peter, James, John and Andrew. Let me highlight what the article says about them:

“They had to step out in faith to follow Jesus. They endured much suffering and persecution as part of their training and discipleship program. Yes, by living out the principles that Jesus taught them, they changed the course of history. Their legacy continues to impact lives even today!”

To all who are in the medical field and are discouraged, I would like to share two principles my husband and I choose to live out:

1. “Everything worthwhile is Uphill. Don’t have downhill habits. No one has ever spoken of accidental achievement” – John Maxwell ( Leadership Expert; Bestselling Author and Coach)

In the Global Leadership Summit my husband and I attended, John Maxwell said the problem is people have uphill hopes and downhill habits. When I was an intern and resident, I had my share of complains and disrespectful behavior towards those I work with, even those in authority over me. In my desire to control what I could in the health care system, i forgot what I had control of- and that is my attitude. Whether in the medical field or not, people don’t fail due to lack of information but because of lack of character. One of the books that helped me during training is “The Winning Attitude” by John Maxwell. In chapter nine, the Crash From Within, he says “we are all subject to the currents of discouragement that can sweep us into a danger zone. If we know some of the causes of discouragement we can more easily avoid it”.  He goes on to say “usually people who are discouraged are thinking mainly about one thing – themselves”. No one can decide for you how to handle defeats in life, but a good motto to keep in mind is that of Missionary E. Stanley Jones “When life kicks you, let it kick you forward”

2. “The hardest execution is one that requires a change in peoples behavior. There will always be more good ideas than there is the capacity to execute”. – Chris McChesney (Bestselling Author, Executive at Franklin Covey)

I believe this is why ranting on social media is rampant. We physicians need to determine what are the fewest battles necessary to win the war in this issue of doctor shaming. A great place to start is with ourselves. As doctors, we have the capacity to bless or curse our patients as well as those we mentor. But before we demand a change in behavior in anyone, we need to have their hearts and minds. As physicians, we have to ask ourselves if we exhibit these 3 Cs: Compassion, Competence and Character. Our cloud of witnesses should see that we like what we do, we can help and we can be trusted. Let us encourage one another to continue to actively pursue to add value to the people around us – both our patients and our colleagues. I believe our medical institutions will constantly strive to build the right systems to monitor the right outcomes. My hope is the outcome we all strive for in being a physician is to embrace significance as something that is not about us, but others.

“When God calls us, it takes a lot of courage to look beyond our individual circumstances and grasp the larger picture, then to overcome our fears and step out in faith”

– Katrina Rey, MD