As an aspiring physician, I have spent years learning about the intricate physiological processes that make our bodies function and the ways in which these processes can fail. I have been tested on the scientific aspects of medicine countless times already in my college years and will continue to be tested on them throughout my future medical education. While it always seemed to me that medicine was purely a science that is governed by the strict laws of biology, chemistry, and physics, the last several months of hospice volunteering have exposed me to the interplay between science and art in medicine. While it is true that practicing medicine requires scientific expertise, being a physician is so much more than diagnosing and prescribing medications. A physician must be able to connect with patients on a personal level and be able to tap into the humanistic side of healing.
During my time volunteering, I was able to visit with numerous patients in both the inpatient setting and at other medical facilities. What I discovered is that what these patients long for as they approach the end of their lives is compassion and human connection. While medical care is still important in managing the physical symptoms that come along with terminal illness, these patients have a need for emotional comfort and peace. These desires became very apparent to me during a visit I had with an older woman on an inpatient unit. During my visit, we had a friendly conversation about her family, her past career, and even her favorite vacation spots during her lifetime. As I let her guide the direction of the conversation, she brought up the fact that she had just been diagnosed with cancer several weeks prior and that by the time she was diagnosed, it was too late to do anything to stop its spread. She caught me off guard as we went from talking about family to talking about her diagnosis with a terminal illness. Despite the sadness and pity that I felt for her, I could feel an aura of peace as she smiled and closed her eyes, as though she was at peace with her fate and knew that she had led a beautiful and meaningful life.
This experience taught me that as a future physician, the most important thing for me to be able to do is to give my patients peace of mind and to look at them not just as patients but as people. Being a physician is a responsibility that goes beyond curing diseases and alleviating physical symptoms. As a future physician, I will not be able to cure all of my patients. There will be conditions that are out of my control and that even the most advanced medical treatment will not be able to cure. In some cases, treatment may cause more harm than good. I will need to be able to work with my patients to make decisions in these hard circumstances. While some situations will not always have the outcome that I hope for, I will always have the opportunity to be present for my patients and to offer the support that they need, both as a physician and as a member of their support network.