I have been retired for almost five years and during that time, many of my emergency service colleagues, friends and acquaintances have also pulled the pin. It seems many are retiring younger, especially those in higher stress positions.
But now my family doctor has announced his retirement. I didn鈥檛 think doctors were even allowed to retire. I thought they just kept going until they looked like the kindly old physicians in the Norman Rockwell prints, bald and grey, spectacles, stethoscope hanging down over a knit vest and a kindly smile on their ruddy face.
It seems that the family doctor is becoming an endangered species. With so many physicians specializing as cardiologists, neurologists or in some other 鈥榦logy,鈥� they can dedicate their practice to one discipline. The family doctor has to be all those things plus he has to act as a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a counsellor and a confessor. He has to know when to speak to his patients softly and tactfully and when to give them a good swift kick in the butt.
He is a lot like Santa Claus; 鈥榟e knows when you鈥檝e been sleeping, he knows why you lie awake, he knows if you鈥檝e been bad or good and what prescriptions you should take.鈥�
When we make an appointment with our family doctor, we all assume that his dedicated staff will be treating us as the top priority when scheduling. When we phone in and give our names, we are certain that the entire office staff goes into action, grabbing our charts, checking the appointment book and rushing to tell the doctor we are not feeling well. In his waiting room we know that all the others there have much less serious ailments than we do, and that the doctor is looking forward to seeing us specifically that day.
We have been candid and honest with our long-time doctor. We don鈥檛 have to be modest or shy, as the mutual trust has been built up over years. Now, some stranger will be asking me to drop my trousers and I鈥檓 not comfortable with that. Besides if the new guy starts asking me questions about my medical history, I might have to embellish some of the reasons for those early visits in my younger days.
We don鈥檛 take into account that possibly there may be a tad bit of pressure on the doctor as he makes his daily rounds. When we are in the hospital, we expect him to leave home a bit early to come to our room first, so he can assign the proper care or even send us home. We don鈥檛 care that he still has to spend all day in the office or what time he gets home to his family. Just make us better.
He has rejoiced with us in our births and recoveries and he has grieved with us in our deaths and disappointments. He has taken into account how our family dynamic affects our personal health and when our health problems may be more emotional than physical. He knows when he only has to give us five minutes or when we need half an hour.
The staff and doctors at Avalon Medical Clinic have earned our respect and thanks.
So Doc, my prescription is to get plenty of rest, put your feet up, read twice a day and take the occasional sip of Scotch for medicinal purposes, you鈥檝e earned it. At least that鈥檚 what McGregor says.
