Home A short
letter to a newly qualified physician
Dear Mohamed,
Thanks for your
mail.
I'd love to be back
in Egypt, thanks for your offer of hospitality - it's one of the reasons I am
so fond of Egypt - that is has not forgotten the hallowed Middle Eastern
tradition of showing loyalty and kindness to guests, even in sometimes very
sacrificial ways - as Abraham and Lot did. It is just one of many signs of the
moral weakness of the modern West, and I fear it's
creeping influence over too much of the world. However I shall not be able to
return for a while yet - God knows the timing.
I know exactly how
you feel, and I am sure that many of your colleagues feel the same way, even if
they aren't able to share it.
I offer some simple
advice to keep your heart and mind safe.
Always keep your
eyes on your patients' best interests. Don't go for what is necessarily the
brightest or the best or the most attractive, pursue what is most valuable and
effective to improve you patients' health and lives. It will need strength of
character and resolution, it may not always be fashionable, and some may speak
ill of you - read the history of Lister or Harvey or some of the great Arab
physicians of the past - sometimes they did and said things other people found
hard to understand or appreciate, often they were opposed - yet that is the nature
of vision, it sees things other don't and acts before they even perceive the
issue - such vision and such character is rarer in Egypt than it should be,
it's worth praying for and seeking after diligently in study. This is the path
of lasting wisdom and honour.
There are some other
bad habits to avoid, never, never lie - not even when all the
world asks you to - not even when the patient himself or herself requests it.
There is all the difference in the world between keeping silence discretely and
violating the truth. Ultimately noone trusts a liar,
not even if he's a professor.
Keep a clear
conscience, even if it means hardship - better to stick to solid principle and
honesty, than to cut corners for gain. The hypocrite will make rapid progress,
but his fall will be sudden and usually final. A well built house will stand
even in the whirlwind.
Never get involved
in controversy unless you really need to, and then only after care and
thoughtful examination of your opponents' case - often some of the truth is on
the other side, only pride and reputation blind us to see what we ought. Use
the gentlest approach necessary to address the matter properly - sometimes this
will need courage. When you
are junior
you may often have to learn to bite your tongue. Always keep your eye on what's
best for the patients - is it harming their care to argue this?
Be skeptical of claims about drugs and other treatments -
there is so much rubbish, so many useless and sometimes harmful drugs. Patients
trust you to test and to examine these claims strictly. Even in the West the
drug companies exercise a great deal of control for profit's sake - and the
problem is worse in
practice you
observe - is this validated? Is it proven? Is there an authoritative
independent source which supports this? Better not to treat than to use a
dubious medicine that may be harmful. Stick to what you know works and works
well.
than the
Vietnamese killed US soldiers. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
As Solomon said, 'there is way that seems right to a man, but it ends in death'
- sometimes literally for a patient. First of all do no harm (Primum non nocere).
Treat every patient
as if he was your own father or mother, brother or sister. Even
if his or her life is a terrible mess. Don't keep favourites.
Be careful of
accepting gifts or bribes from the companies - they take away something much
more precious than they give - your judgement and objectivity. Better to be
frugal and free, than rich and enslaved.
Cut yourself free from sexual temptations from colleagues,
patients and relatives - sometimes it will need a knife. It is a great
dishonour and shame to fall in such a way, and this too needs constant
vigilance even in small things, and the constant and strong help of the God who
weighs all our thoughts and acts.
Give your learning
and advice freely to others - don't me a miser with your learning and wisdom as
you gain it. The miser impoverishes himself most of all.
Always walk humbly,
remember the gifts and privileges you have received are for the purpose of
glorifying God - not oneself, He can withdraw as easily as he gave, when and as
He chooses. It is His to exalt and His to humble.
Much could be added,
but even what I have written will be blessed but difficult and sometimes painful
to observe, and sadly the realities of these warnings painfully unfolded in the
lives of many of your colleagues very soon.
Best wishes and
prayers for your future,
Yours in the
Beloved,
Charles