Monday, February 4, 2008
The Doctor, The New Literary Genius?
When thinking of a doctor, most people envision a person in scrubs standing with scalpel in hand before his/her patient. However, a new role physicians are taking on is not near the patient but rather behind the typewriter. Physicians have found an alternate way to translate their knowledge through writing. Based on the article cited, “Patients are Discovering ‘My Doctor, the Author’”, it seems that many doctors are swimming in a pool of experience and case stories that they feel need to be revealed. As science research journals are expanding to broader audiences, physician-written literature has seen astounding growth in the number of readers. Doctors’ narrative stories of their own human observations provoke dialogue on health issues. Despite the debate of whether doctors should seek their patients consent first, many agree that anonymous physician stories are too beneficial to lose. As we learn about the mechanics and challenges of science journal articles in class, I note the parallels of honesty, consent, and reliance issues in physician writing. Some people argue that physicians sever all ties to any ethical standards to their patients through writing. Although it is difficult to standardize physician writing when it is often a narrative story, the importance of the experience to themselves and others is seen by the popularity of physician-written novels, papers, and essays. Even in a world that seems caught up in the momentum of patient-care, people sense the value of words to translate the significance of experience.
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Sorry here is the link: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D06E2DE123EF931A1575BC0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2
In this type of medical literature, I feel that their literary value lies in the personal experieneces and reflections offered by the doctor-author-- as opposed to information and stories about particular patients. I don't feel it is the place for doctors to describe medical cases, bringing about lawsuits, in their memoirs and popular literature. This, I feel, is the place of medical journals and strictly-scientific publications.
Instead, I feel the value in this type of literature lies in the way such cases affect the doctor him/herself. My feelings are expressed by one quote from the article: "Writing is not an exercise in discretion, it is an exercise in truth. In this sense, the story belongs to the storyteller, because he is the truth seeker."
That is, writing such medical literature is not valuable in its informative relaying of medical experiences; it's how such experiences inform and affect both the individual author-doctor and the reader.
I actually think that these narrative stories telling a doctor's personal experiences is extremely helpful. There is no harm done to the patients when the doctors tell their story anonymously, and the information definitely benefits others dealing with medical issues. Medical journals are a great resource too, but I think it's even better to hear the first-hand experiences of doctors who can accurately describe medical cases. For instance, if there was the option of a surgery given for a certain medical condition, the patient could read up on a doctor who may have performed this surgery several times and can see his ideas on it and the outcomes. I feel the doctor should have a right to let other's know his personal experiences and get his story out there.
I can definitely understand why confidentiality in the medicine field stirs huge debates. On one hand, I believe that patients have the right of privacy and that doctors should not discuss individual cases openly unless it is with other doctors. On the other hand, articles and stories that have anything to do with medicine interest and fascinate me. Some people have the guilty pleasure of reading gossip magazines or women’s magazines such as Cosmopolitan, and sometimes I fall into this category but most of the time I flip right to the health section of a magazine to read about new medical discoveries or to find out that what used to be considered a medical truth is actually a medical myth. Stories about medicine capture my attention and I definitely agree that confidentiality should be kept—that a person’s name should be changed. I also think that a doctor should be courteous enough to obtain permission or consent before even writing an article. The quote, “Others have written that all writers ultimately betray those who are their subjects, but they would betray themselves if it were otherwise,” really grabbed my attention. The quote is written perfectly. I don’t think “writers betray those who are their subjects” if they write an article, as long as they change the patient’s name and ask for the patient’s consent. If writers didn’t write such articles, then medicine would not be able to further improve. By keeping medical issues a secret, how could the medical world advance? It is by discussing medical issues that progress is made which is why I think it is very important for articles to still be published but that authors should respect a person’s right to confidentiality and privacy.
Even though I believe medical journals to be helpful in communicating with patients, having the doctors narrative story helps establish a more meaningful and higher valued connection with a patient. The idea of having a doctor give his own account from past experiences of past cases in general, is very effective in several ways; helping a patient or individual determine whether or not they are going about their treatment the way they feel most comfortable with, whether or not the doctor is someone they also feel comfortable with, and in general telling the story from cases which patients can relate to. Medical literature is not necessarily useful, in terms of conveying facts or specific medical information, but it is helpful for conveying the experiences doctors have gone through on such cases, giving the reader a better understanding.
I feel like a doctor's narrative could be helpful. If a doctor does not disclose personal information about the patient and uses information he/she already published in a medical journal, the narrative is a great way to connect to the public. We always feel removed from our doctors (unless they're family members) and a personal story could help personify them more and maybe help calm some of the fear of the "doctor's office." Medical journals are also difficult to read for the public and this could be a great way to explain certain procedures and medican conditions in universal terms.
This quote also stood out to me:
"Others have written that all writers ultimately betray those who are their subjects, but they would betray themselves if it were otherwise,”
and i believe there is some truth to this quote regarding writing in general. Advice given in any creative writing class is "write what you know", and if the author is to write what he knows, his friends, family and enemies will inevitably make it into the fiction in some form. Changing all the facts would be betraying the truth.
However, i believe the doctor-patient relationship complicates matters somewhat at least. The information doctorss have on their patients is privileged information, not simply truth they come across in the process of living their lives. There are restrictions on the extent to which this information can be revealed to employers, insurance companies, educational institutions, and even limitations on the usage of confidential medical information in courts. These limitations frequently hold even when the confidential information would be very useful.
Should literature be the one exception where confidentiality should be de facto waived so that doctors, in their capacity as writers, may "betray those who are their subjects" so that they do not "betray themselves"?
I do not believe that whenever doctors write about patients, they are betraying their subjects, but i do belive there must be some restrictions placed on the extent to which doctor's can use confidential information, regardless of the value of this information for literature.
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