One of the hardest things to do as a health professional is to find empathy when working with the masses. We simply cannot deal with all the pain that is out there, and so we insulate ourselves from the pain to deal with problems rather than with people. We deal with numbers and not individuals because just one individual story is much more powerful than any number thrown at our face.
So where exactly is the balance between being a human and being a professional? How do we live with ourselves when after learning about everything that is wrong with the world, we go back to our private lives as though nothing happened. But then how do we live if we bring everything we learn that is wrong with the world back into our own private lives? How much pain and suffering can we bring back home each day without it affecting our lives?
Anyone can be an average health professional and simply deal with numbers, but it takes courage and strength to go out each day to deal with people. Ask yourself then if all you want to be is an average health professional... or if you're ready to deal with people.
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7 comments:
i like this post a lot wilson. it's so true...a lot of people have ideals, but when it comes to translating those to real situations and getting real results (even lending an empathetic ear to someone can be a real result) it can be easy to forget and miss the boat.
a true public health professional, i think, is on the job 24 hours a day. it's a precious job. i think the best professionals are those that learn how to invite their profession into their private sphere of existence...and try their best to minimize the negative aspects of doing that. i guess that means striking a new balance.
You bring up a great point. In my case I want to make a difference not just being an average profesional and I think that a potential answer for your question will be just try to improve peoples quality of life and you will not feet as bad, or at least proud of yuor achievements.
hi wilson,
i like your insight. i think it's hard to strike a balance between the two. this is one of the reasons i think traveling and being open to new experiences is so important. because even when we learn about disparities in underdeveloped countries or even in our own country-if we don't see it and experience it ourselves, we'll never really learn about the pain others experience daily. it does take courage and strength to deal with people. i hope we can all be open enough to truly deal with people one day.
Great post Wilson. I think this issue is what separates a good public healh professional from a great one. If we are not focused on the people who stand to benefit from our public health efforts, we are missing the point of being in public health. I hope USC MPH grads will be great PH professionals !
I've had to grapple with this issue for a while and I agree that there's a balance, which can be so elusive. And as Christina mentioned, traveling and experiencing other cultures and having contact with those who may be less privileged than us is a truly humbling experience.
One of the remarkable things about this class has been a reawakening of empathy within myself, for which I am grateful.
I really relate to your post. I have had to find the balance in my private life where I stop bringing all these issue home with me at night but do everything possible during daylight hours. Working with people individually, while at times incredibly difficult, is more rewarding than anything else.
Wilson,
I just read again your post and came to my mind the difference between IQ and emotional inteligence. Or maybe teh combination of this two types of inteligence could help us explain this alittle bit more.
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