My whole life, I have tried to fix people. I rack my brain to come up with a solution for my loved ones when they have a dilemma. All too often, none of them are viable solutions. For example, a friend is working at a job where she is profoundly overworked. I suggested that she put her own limits on how much she can do, and on how much notice she needs to complete a project. This same friend is still being overworked (turning down all of my oh-so-brilliant suggestions). It's extremely frustrating to me when people I know and love have problems that I can't fix, which leads me to wonder - what happens when I am a physician and people come in with problems I can't fix? In neurology (my specialty choice of the day), physicians are often confronted with patients with problems they can't fix. These are extremely devastating neurological illnesses that even with our technology now, we just can't cure. Occasionally there is something we can do to make the symptoms better, but the end comes just the same. So when I see those patients, am I going to come home discouraged and troubled? Or will I get used to it? And which is better - to be desensitized or to constantly ache for my patients? The answer seems clear - there must be some middle ground, but how does one find it?
