We are Dealing with People Here. . .

The other day I was attempting to fill my car with gas. It was extremely cold outside and the card reader wasn't working and I was getting increasingly angrier. Finally, after three attempts I went into the station. I was prepared with a, "What the Hell?" kind of response. I waited while one women counted out her drawer and another put in hers. A shift change. Awesome.

The lady greeted me with such kindness and explained that the satellite was frozen, and that's why it wasn't working. She chatted a bit about having worked there for 20 years. We talked briefly about how things had changed since she started. She told me that a few years ago she would have just climbed onto the roof herself and fixed the satellite, but that was no longer legal. They were waiting for the satellite company to come and fix it. She talked about how fortunate she was to have such good employees and that she liked talking to customers. I had completely forgotten to be pissed off. I finished filling the car and headed home.

I hadn't really thought about it, but we really don't talk to people anymore. In fact, I'm so awkward on the phone that I dread making or receiving phone calls. I prefer email and text messaging. Almost every business call I've made recently is automated.

What do we, as future physicians do with this kind of patient? How do we handle ourselves? Is anyone well-versed in small talk anymore? Are we too "chief complaint" driven? I will not further complicate the matter with a discussion of time, because that will get me full-circle back to my original emotion - anger.

We are not solitary creatures. We are not meant to be alone. In fact, those that spend their lives in solitude are rarely well-adjusted. So why have we created this way of living? Why are we in such a hurry? I have one theory - money. The faster we see patients, the more money we make. Stupid, huh? Our job is to heal people or make their transitions into death as smooth and comfortable as possible. How can we do that if we don't know how to communicate with one another? We live all over the country, on small plots of land, using the internet to avoid each other. This will not end well. I can't find the exact quote, but I believe it was Sir William Osler who said, "If you listen long enough, the patient will give you the diagnosis."

"Next."

(The image is artwork by Andy Goldsworthy)