The Medical Field: Behind the Scenes

                                       


Wesley Desselle, Surgeon of Hellen Keller Hospital, spoke to us in Honors Forum last week. He preached the human values of learning medicine, and informed us students, especially including, but not limited to, nursing students that the medical field is not always pretty.


He exemplified this by first introducing an image from the nine-season hit TV show, Grey's Anatomy. The image paints the picture of gory glory, showing each member of the medical surgeon team gathered around a patient, pumping blood from his heart (basically saving his life, fabulously). Immediately following this fantasized fiction, Dr. Desselle slapped a picture of a man's private area with something like skin grafts on the inner thigh. Next came a rather...nausea-invoking illustration of a rotting foot, belonging to a man who had stepped on a nail. Dr. Desselle's point was that the medical field can often be grueling, and does not always live up to the glitz and glamour television and society in general makes it out to be.


(Personally, I found this rather funny. I saw quite a few nursing majors repressing a quick baby barf as they saw the pictures... Good luck with that career choice!).


But more so than the graphic view of medicine and being a doctor, what struck me were the pros and cons of being a doctor.


The pros, of course, are the satisfaction of helping people, contributing the community you live in and maybe on a more selfish note, the salary.


The cons involve so much more personal details, that I am convinced I could never be a doctor or surgeon. What Dr. Desselle failed to display from Grey's Anatomy is the other side of the show, (the personal one) that proves the sacrifices each doctor has to make for his or her career. *Though doctors earn a decent income, they are often in debt. Doctors also have to make time for family, which is almost impossible to do. Doctors are scheduled for certain work hours, of course, but they have days where they are never off duty. They are on-call and have to stay in the hospital overnight to get any rest. Grey's Anatomy does provide this information. Because of the commitment doctors give to their careers, families are often deprived of the attention they need. Relationships in general lack the growth and support they need, because relationships are a two-way street. Nobody can invest 100% effort while the other person gives nothing. Successful relationships, whether it be friendships, families, dating or marriages, requires equal partnership and work for everyone.


This makes the medical field a little less attractive to me as my own career choice, but it also makes me respect those who will be doctors, greatly.
*I myself am not quite sure why this happens, but it was one of the problems Desselle mentioned, so it is thus included.

Grey's Anatomy Cast

Severe Plaque Psoriasis Victim
(the not-so-pretty side)



“As doctors, we’re trained to be skeptical, because patients lie to us all the time. The rule is, every patient is a liar until proven honest. Lying is bad. Or so we are told constantly from birth. Honesty is the best policy, the truth shall set you free, I chopped down the cherry tree. Whatever. The fact is, lying is a necessity. We lie to ourselves because the truth… the truth freaking hurts.” -Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

Opposite Ends of the Spectrum

Previously, in Honors Forum...
Mr. Ross Berry, CEO of Shoals Hospital taught us the importance of working hard to become something and better yourself; he claimed that people who try to better themselves will always have a "hand up" to get where they are going. Mr. Berry started out in an unfortunate situation concerning the death of his parents. *Following this, more unfortunate occurrences kept, well, occurring! Regardless of his beginnings, Mr. Berry has successfully come from a poor background into a very successful career at the present date.

*See previous blog.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have Mr. William Lee, commercial farmer. Mr. Lee grew up in a farming family, and thus became a farmer himself. "Farming is a rather different career," he says, "because farming requires not putting a set price on products and dealing with uncertainties." This means that a lot of risk is required to be a farmer. Just like Mr. Berry, Mr. Lee is comfortable in this risk-taking environment. The difference in the two? Mr. Berry chose risk for self-development. Mr. Lee is comfortable in this atmosphere because it was brought on him.

That's right, folks: Mr. William Lee is a commercial farmer, simply because he was raised a farmer. Mr. Lee believes that most people do not choose to start farming or own a farming company by choice; for most people, farming chooses them. Fellow farmers, say it isn't so? In my opinion, farming is a very respectable field to be in! Everybody needs food to live on, and as a majority, well let's be honest, in good ole 'Merica, we like to eat. Farmers supply us with not only the crops we need, but the diversity in crops that we crave.

Personally, I believe the field of farming should generate more interest. Maybe if farmers advertised their field       and made it seem more alluring, then more people would want to become farmers, regardless of how they were raised. Anyone can learn anything they want to, it's just a matter of the will to learn. Lastly, if more people decided to go into farming as a career, then farming's success would increase as a whole.

Why Does Everything Sound Smarter In Latin?

This week in Honors Forum, Mr. Ross Berry, CEO of Shoals Hospital spoke to us. Rather than throw together a professional presentation about the success of his hospital, and speak of how he gained that success, Mr. Berry was real with us. He told us a story that stuck with us, and affected us personally.

Mr. Berry told the story of two men who grew up with different lifestyles. John came from a well-to-do family, attended a private school and was accepted to college. "Chuck" was the child of two immigrants, then was later adopted. When he was five years old, his adopted mother died; when he was twelve, his father died. Chuck was also accepted to college, but had to quit when he was twenty years old. The two wound up working in factories, but all the while, Chuck was going to school for his BS then later MBA degrees. Chuck became a pilot and an open water diver. At the end of the story, Ross Berry revealed that "Chuck" became the CEO of Shoals Hospital, which meant that Chuck was Ross.

This story really hit home for me, because I have best friends who are in unfortunate situations, trying to make something of themselves and get into school soon. This forum session taught me lessons that I will more than likely remember for the rest of my life.

People who want to better themselves will always have supporters, ready to help them and give them a hand up. I strongly agree; people with selfless intentions will be taken care of. This was proven in Mr. Berry's case, as he told us that the number one thing he always wanted to do was help people. He also told us his personal belief about work. "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life."

Perhaps the only thing one can do to be happy and succeed is

Vera Verum Va Vera Causea: Do the right thing the right way for the right reason.

5 Words You Can "Bank" On

This week, Max Mauldin, President of Bank Independent, spoke with us about the values of being college students. He spoke of his own personal values, but he also used an example of the bank's values. He held up five posters, one at a time. Each displayed one of the bank's values printed in bold on the high-gloss poster board. As each of the signs flashed, I realized that these were values I believed should be instilled in every business policy. Below are each of the values; they explain how Mr. Mauldin uses them and how I believe they should be used.

People: The people who work at Bank Independent are an asset to the company. Each man pulls his own weight, and should be respected as an asset. The same goes with most things in life. I strongly believe that everyone placed on Earth was put here for a reason. Because each person is meant to further the world, he or she should be treated as if they matter: their thoughts, opinions, values, everything.

Community: The bank employees invest in the community that they work and live in. This means treating the customers as family, not as strangers. In life, connections must be made in order to establish a foundation and hope for progress. These connections require a constantly strengthening relationship among its founders.

Strength: Bank Independent is a safe and sound organization, because it hires people trained in their talents and efficient in those talents. Each person alive is granted at least one talent to develop and prize. People should assume the attitude of Bank Independent and become strengthened in their talents and use them to the best of their ability so that they can hold a secure and stable place in the world.

Service: Service should be provided to customers and team members personally. The key word here is "personally." After all, isn't that what service means? Service is something done for someone in order to help them or improve their condition. The way this works in business is the same in life: If employees are treated personally, they are more likely to be personal and genuine with customers as well. In life, always treat your peers the way you wish to be treated, so that you may be rewarded in tenfold.

And last but not least...

Convenience: To Bank Independent, this means being available for customers when it is needed. People should always be available for those who need them. Respect and trust are gained for those who are dependable and available to go to and seek help from.

Again, there are many things that Mr. Mauldin spoke about, but these are the top five that struck me. Maybe you agree, or disagree, feel free to leave comments.