Doctor's and Teachers are very much alike. Both have degrees, are professional, and deal with the public in both the best and worst circumstances. Both work hard everyday to make sure who they see is taken care of and should go beyond the call of duty when necessary to see that who they are taking care of is taken care of and they are the best "OK" they can be. Both also deal with more paperwork and bureaucracy than should be necessary and if given the chance to hold a bonfire and burn all the paperwork, most would not hesitate to bring the paperwork and lighter fluid and do a dance as it burns. I think for the most part both teachers and doctors go into their profession with a whole hearted thought they can make a difference and then find out that medicine is not like what we see on Grey's anatomy and teaching is not what is depicted in after school specials.
As a teacher on sabbatical I know first hand the carnage of teaching. (As I am not a doctor I won't say it is hard but watching from a far I am pretty sure that it is difficult.) It is hard. It is difficult. There are long hours. There are tears. There is heart ache. There is a lot of sacrifice of one's self. However....this is only if you are good....no great....the greatest....you are human. You care. You love. You laugh. You dance. You sing. You put yourself out there. You are yourself. You make mistakes. You are kind. You speak from the heart. You look people in the eye and are honest. You take time to explain what is happening with the other humans that you are dealing with. You treat others the way you would want to be treated; the way you want your kids, wife, husband, mother, father, etc. to be treated.
I think this is what a lot of doctors and teachers have forgotten. We have forgotten that we deal with humans and to deal with other humans we have to also be....drum roll please.....human!!! Since when did it get so hard to take a few extra minutes to feel for others? Since when did it get so hard to try to understand someone's plight?
I have struggled for the last 10-12 days being sick. I am not expecting miracles when I go to the doctor. I am not even expecting them to make me be better in one day. What I do expect is what is expected of me as a teacher when their child is in my classroom - I want a human. I want someone that is kind, considerate, compassionate, understanding, and takes an extra 30 seconds to be friendly and helpful even if there isn't much they can do. I also want them to look me in the eye and try to help me the best way they know how. Is this too much to ask? Maybe....but if I have to be a "human" when I am teaching their child, than I expect that of my doctor when they are doctoring.
Human...nothing more....nothing less...Human. Just Human.
My experience is that most doctors are overworked either by choice [want more money] or because they really do care. Unfortunately, I've run in to many in the first category and have severed my relationship with them [dermatologists seem to be the worst.] When you find one in category two, hold on to him/her. They are rare.
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