Re: Priorities
Doctors. You used to have the village doctor, an aged, experienced man who knew everybody and treated everyone with equal care and attention.
Now, you have young wolves who are more interested in the number of patients they see per hour than actually solving problems.
I live in a small French village. My doctor of reference (because, in France, you now have to declare your preferred doctor - viva la Revoluçion) retired during COVID, handing her patient record over to a young male doctor. I recently learned that she had taken back her practice, and was, once again, treating patients, although she kept herself to patients that already had on record.
I can understand that. She's over 70. She doesn't need more stress.
In any case, I recently had occasion to reserve a time slot (an interview ? an exam ?) with my old preferred doctor. I returned to her as soon as I knew she was once again consulting. She knows me, she knows everything about me, and I trust her.
That's more than I can say about her "replacement".
And when I got to her practice, a quarter of an hour early - as usual, I got another confirmation of how right I was. There was a young man waiting (disclaimer : I'm 58 this year - he was no more than 30). We exchanged some polite pleasantries, and he said that he much preferrend waiting an hour in her waiting room rather than going to her younger replacement.
He told me that her replacement had given him a stay in hospital for his lack of proper diagnostic, and he would never see that one again.
I fear the loss of the the village doctor's experience. The doctor who could accurately predict the date of birth of a pregnant woman. The doctor who never failed to visit at 11 P.M. in case of emergency. The doctor who always seemed wise and reassuring, and whose prescriptions were bound to help you.
I fear we have collectively lost that to the commercialization of health care. To doctors who care more about seeing as many patients in an hour as they can, rather that the doctor who actually wants to get to know you, and better prescribe what you need.
I don't know what the solution is.