Category: How To Drop Out Of Medicine

Inoculation is a way of developing immunity against a disease.

But immunity doesn’t mean that your body is insulated from the disease.

It just means that it’s been primed to develop a response that is able to handle and deal with the antigens of the disease.

The purpose of an antigen is to elicit an antibody response that maintains homeostasis.

The purpose of fear is to elicit an action that upgrades homeostasis…triggering actions that establish a new normal.

Everything is safe and secure, but operating at a different level.

The gaps between levels are why you feel the fear.

But really, fear is just there to help direct you to the higher levels you were designed to operate on.

So…what are you afraid of…and where is that fear pointing to?

Image: Gapingvoid

You are inadequate.

Wait to be given permission.

Be afraid; be very afraid.

Make sure you pass the test, and the next one, and the one after that.

Your name is not enough: you need other letter in front of it and after it.

The more pieces of paper you have the better.

Careful; someone might sue you for that.

Who you are doesn’t matter. What matter is your letters, numbers and labels e.g FY1, Resident, MBChB, CCT, GP, FRCOG…

The only acceptable way for you to make a living is to trade time for money.

Your “other talents” don’t matter. All that matters is whatever we can extract value from in our Hospital Factory.

You are not allowed to be happy.

You are not allowed to feel rested.

You are not allowed to say no.

You are not allowed to walk away.

You are not allowed to have a life outside of your job description.

You are now allowed to take time to figure out how to cure the disease or solve the problem and put yourself (and us) out of a job.

You are not allowed to fail.

You are not allowed to try something different.

You are not allowed to escape the Rat Race (where your passive income exceeds your expenses).

You are not allowed to do something that “might not work”.

You are not allowed to reinvent yourself.

You are not allowed to only spend half of whatever you make (because you’re busy investing and saving the rest).

You are not allowed to trade the sunk costs of your parents’ sacrifices and expectations for happiness and fulfilment.

You are not allowed to live a life that does not revolve around us.

Yeah, these are some of the things you’ll need to unlearn that Medicine ® has intentionally drilled into your Soul (mind+will+emotions).

As has been said, what got you here won’t get you there.

Maybe the key to transforming your life is to experiment with doing the opposite of what Medicine ® has trained you to do.

Image: Gapingvoid

Rest, respect and reward.

Regardless of who you are or what you do, you could probably do with a lot more of all three.

In fact, you probably are your best self when you’re rested, respected and rewarded…where the currency for each quality varies from person to person.

At the same time, rest, respect and reward are not essential requirements for AI, robots, drones and semi-conductor chips.

They are able to do their best work without any of the things that are essential for humans to do their best work and be their best selves.

And they are definitely able to outperform humans who are doing work that could be done by a machine…but without the 3 essential components of rest, respect and reward.

It’s not a fair match-up, but it’s one that most humans have allowed themselves to be enrolled in because it feels safe (like vanilla ice cream laced with arsenic)…even though it’s the most dangerous thing they could possibly do.

Rest, respect and reward.

If you’re deficient or anemic in any of these areas, dare to find and take opportunities to supplement yourself.

If those who work with you are lacking in rest, respect or reward, be generous enough to help them find more.

And if you’re doing work that could be done by a machine…without the rest, respect or reward you need to do your best human work…its time to make a change before the machines arrive at your job description.

Because when they do, the little rest, respect, and reward that you do have will be a far distant memory.

Image: Gapingvoid 

“The Doctor will see you now.”

What did you picture when you read that?

Just a hundred years ago, many people wouldn’t picture a woman as the Doctor.

Or someone black or Hispanic or “not White”.

Or someone with face piercings and tattoos.

And today, when a patient walks in to see the Doctor, they don’t expect to see a room full of experts all present to attend the meeting to discuss the patient’s concern.

Nurses, pharmacists, bioengineers, psychologists, psychiatrists, career counsellors, financial advisors, neurosurgeons…all present at this consultation to solve the problem from every angle, without worrying about wrapping things up in under 12 minutes.

No being “referred” and having to wait to be seen at some point in the future by “the specialist”.

No having your healthcare at the mercy of disconnected medical peers each trying to decipher each other’s writing.

Instead, a commitment to treating you as a team at every stage of the journey.

We don’t expect this…even though we would probably benefit from this approach.

We don’t expect this…even though we’ve got the technology and infrastructure to make this a reality right now.

And we don’t expect this, because we’re too busy justifying the status quo.

“The Doctor will see you now.”

We get to imagine what “the Doctor” could look like, and dare to make room for that expectation.

Image: Gapingvoid

Really?

What about “Please advertise responsibly”?

President Donald Trump has apparently asked Pharmaceuticals to indicate the cost of their drugs in the advertisements.

What if we amplified this.

What if every advertiser had to spotlight the negative side effects of their product in their ad?

And no, I don’t mean the hurried “termsandconditionsapply” shpeel tacked on at the end…or even getting someone cool or sexy to distract the audience whilst technically fulfilling the mandate.

Heres a format that advertisers could be asked to use:

• Here’s how our product will ruin your life
• Here’s how much it will cost you
• Here’s why we want you to buy it
• Here’s how it will ruin your life

Of course, this isn’t really about government regulation of industries, or arguments about “freedom of speech”.

Instead it’s a reminder to all of us to be human and to treat one another with respect.

When you create an ad campaign or write a policy or lobby for a specific law, you are attempting to build a relationship with all those who will encounter the thing that you are making.

And when it comes to relationships, being brutally honest up front is the only way to build a healthy relationship that lasts.

Don’t allow yourself to hide the truth behind a massive billboard and really tiny small print.

Instead, hide your offering behind the brutally honest truth.

And if it scares everyone away, go back to the drawing board, and make something you’re not afraid to be brutally honest about.

Image: Gapingvoid

“Everybody lies.”

Gregory House was only half wrong.

It’s not that patients are lying when they come to see you.

What’s happening is that your patients are asking you to play their version of hide and seek.

You know, the game we all played when we were kids.

Your job is to understand that, figure out the rules and play the game to win the right to help them.

And just because you think you know where they’re hiding, and just because your Handlers want you to wrap things up in 12 minutes or less…doesn’t mean that you get to just pull them out of their hiding place.

It’s called hide and seek, not hide and find.

The process of seeking is what helps you earn the right to transform your patients lives…instead of just addressing their presenting complaints.