Why aren't we doctors kinder to ourselves? Why aren't we nicer to our colleagues? Why aren't we kinder to our patients? I tend to think that the answer to all of the above questions is a lack of respect for what we consider human.
For some reason, many of us in healthcare associate our humanity only with that which stops us from being our best selves. In fact, there are a range of qualities that make us human. This includes compassion, competence and strength as well as anger, error and dejection.
Our focus on the negativity of humanity begins in the preclinical years. How will you learn the Krebs cycle if you have to take breaks to eat and pee? The truly excellent student removes the basic needs of a mere human and learns to function like a cyborg. When the superhuman is the norm, being human is a source of shame.
Unfortunately, dissociating from such basic aspects of human existence as sleeping when tired makes it difficult to harness the human traits you perceive as more positive. Ideally, we would take a break to return to our humanity when we feel ourselves losing our kindness and compassion. Instead, many of us unconsciously and consciously diminish and reject human traits that we previously considered positive.
Anything that makes you identifiably mortal is considered an obstacle to success. Vulnerability, along with hunger and adequate hydration, adds to the list of barriers to clinical excellence.
Ironically, this release of what makes you human is considered both necessary and temporary in order to become the best healer you can be. You will discover how to become a human healer once you complete the training and feel more empowered in your life. The challenge is when all of your strategies for success are developed without honoring your humanity; it's almost impossible to convince yourself that you can maintain the level of success you want and still be human.
This is the dysfunctional mindset that many doctors establish after training and must overcome to establish lasting well-being. Being good as an incumbent is not about knowing how to be superhuman in a new context. It's about recognizing, celebrating and embracing all that you can achieve as a clinical human being.
To be fair, many healthcare organizations that you join after training perpetuate this superhuman ideal. They have observed for generations that the financial results they desired came from clinicians' disregard for humanity. So this whole humanity-honoring approach is met with apprehension and sometimes contempt.
I think clinicians and healthcare organizations need a new mindset. Simply considering that being human is compatible with good care and good business is the first step in being open to the many strategies for supporting humanity while maintaining excellence. This is not about lowering our standards. It's about making a holistic reassessment of what these standards produce in the long term in terms of the mission that we all need to be well (mentally, physically and financially) while doing good.
Jattu Senesia is an obstetrician-gynecologist.