If you could be paid to be infected with a curable disease…on the condition that you did NOT use the cure, only managed the symptoms…would you do it?
And if you’re quietly asking yourself “How much would they pay me” then I’ll count that as a “Yes, provided the terms and conditions are right.”
But consider this scenario.
If you could be paid to allow someone you love to be infected with a curable disease…on the condition that they didn’t use the cure, but only managed the symptoms…AND you would be paid as long as they stayed sick but FIRED and driven out of your career the moment they were cured…would you do it?
And if you were entrusted with the cure, how long would you wait before administering it…and losing your current means of making a living?
Sadly, the second scenario is the one most of us are currently signed up for.
Instead of being in the business of healthcare, our actions, protocols, hierarchies and business models map more accurately to being in the “sick maintenance” business.
Deal with the most severe and debilitating symptoms with the available medication and procedures.
Only react to what comes through the door.
Deal only with those who can access you (e.g relevant health insurance, transport, community support for seeking medical assistance etc).
Do your job the way you’ve been trained to do it.
But don’t you dare do anything that could solve the day to day problems and make your current job complete redundant and obsolete.
Of course, the immediate objection is the use of the word “curable”.
“There’s nothing we can do about disease X” some may argue.
Maybe there isn’t.
Or maybe you’re too busy being paid to keep people sick, that you’re wittingly or unwittingly ignoring solutions and actions that hold the key to curing the incurable.
The challenge then is to ask:If you were suddenly going to be paid for curing your patients…and FIRED and driven out of your career the moment they became sick…how would that change what you do each day?