The Irony of the Medical Profession.

What did I learn in medical school?

In the first year, we studied human anatomy, physiology and biochemistry. Layman term- how the body works. Every nerve and vein, cells and molecules, fluids and solids. (had to repeat my biochemistry paper..really could not retain all the pathways of fats, proteins, the coagulation cascade, bla bla 1000x). And still, quoting Prof. Sir David Weatherall, FRS (Regius Professor of Medicine, Univ of Oxford, UK);

"We know so little about how the body works.."

In the second year, we studied pathology, pharmacology, parasitology, microbiology.. or in short, what can go wrong with the body. Did we manage to cover all? We will never. We only could concentrate on the common ones. Often as doctors we would stumble on some bizarre illness that we know nothing about, when whatever we do, the truth won't reveal itself. Those times we would just guess (and pray!).

Then year 3 to 5 we entered the clinical world, where we started to touch strangers whom we called patients, and tried to get a glimpse of what our future might be like. We busied ourselves to see as much as we could, read more than the doctors think we did, and chased cases :D. (yes, come with something unusual and we would be hovering over you). We waited for mothers to break their waters and we would tail them until we can pull that screaming head out of you know where. We feed babies through tubes.We listened to manic and paranoid chatters in the psychiatric wards. We frequented the morgue, secretly hoping there would be a body waiting for us inside.

Then in a flash that seemed like forever, we graduated and started working. The first few years we spent learning to do procedures, to recognize subtleties, to work like zombies after sleepless nights, to handle colleagues, and to kowtow Bosses.

What do we do when we see healthy people?

We do nothing. We dismiss them. We gladly shoo them away.

(What happen next in the course of a doctor's career is unknown to me, because that was where I stopped. Remind me to write about it again in a few years).

So while we doctors know a lot about diseases, we know little about health. That's the irony of the medical profession.

We concentrate more on the diseases, how to recognize them, how to relieve them, how to straightened bones, how to sew wounds. If an artery is blocked, we unblock it and pray it won't get blocked again. If we found stones, we crush them or remove them. If we found tumours, we cut them, burn them or poison them.

As a result, the doctors know more about the Don'ts than Dos....

-Don't smoke. You will get cancer everywhere.
-Don't bend down when lifting heavy things. You will snap you back.
-Don't eat too much fried food. Your waist will double.
-Don't have unprotected sex. (If protected we don't care).
-Don't play with fireworks (If you end up in the emergency dept during my shift on the eve of AidilFitri, I'll kill you myself) 

What about the Dos? We leave that to dietitian, physiotherapist, acupuncturist, herbalist etc...

Imagine our body is a town, and the brain is the Mayor, the organs are the government agencies, the bones and skin are the buildings and the immune system is the police force, who is a doctor to this town?

We doctors are just the handyman, the plumbers. You have a leak, you call us. You have a broken window, you call us. But the Mayor is still you. And the life of the town depends on you.

Try say this to a doctor..

You : Doc, I don't want your medicine. I will try to detoxify myself and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. I will meditate and zikr more. InsyaAllah the disease will go away.
Doc : Trust me (a professional bully)! Without treatment you will die in a year (offering statistics). I have seen many people suffer with illness like yours (my experience matters more than your knowledge of your body, and your feelings).

Or..

You : Doc, what do you suggest I do so that the illness won't come back again?
Doc : Do what you please. Live your life to the fullest. Come back for check up in 6 months. (the truth is I don't really know. And your time is up. Next patient please!)

What we doctors know about nutrition?

My knowledge of nutrition is limited to:
 a) The food pyramid (carbohydrate at the base, fats at the top etc).
b) Fat is bad. Reduce fat intake if you have heart disease.
c) Sugar is bad. Reduce sugar if you have diabetes.
d) Salt is bad. Reduce salt if you have hypertension.
e) Eat more fruits and veges. (What is suitable for a disease and what is not- I don't know).
f) Eat more fiber if you are constipated.
g) Drink 2 liters of water a day.
h) Avoid red meat, seafood and beans if you have high uric acid.

I only remember one or two lectures about nutrition during our student years. There was no emphasize on nutrition in our studies. Even though for thousands of years nutrition is a MAJOR part of health.

"Healthy eating is a timeless science, researched for thousands of years in different civilizations but surprisingly neglected this century. Nutritionally aware physicians are few and far between, especially when it comes to factors such as the subtle energies of living plants and plant enzymes."
 (Dr.Carruthers, MRCPath, MD, MRCGP in the foreword of Leslie Kenton's book, Raw Energy)

Don't rely too much on your doctors about your health. Don't let the doctors bully you because of your ignorance and their arrogance. Take charge of your own body. Ask more. Ask around. Eat healthy. Eat fresh.