Most Doctors Need More time

I seem to be living in a nation that expects the average criminal, medical or family crisis to be resolved in 60 minutes. The length of a popular TV series.

My problem started with Doctors Kildare and Ben Casey and continued for several years, with Marcus Welby,M.D. and newer E.R. Sitcoms.

Those great physicians were able to diagnose an illness, cure it and resolve the family crisis in just one hour [with commercials thrown in], and they only had to deal with one crisis at a time.

They rarely lost their temper and had their hair neatly groomed, [day or night], while they performed those feats of medical magic. They seldom made mistakes and when they did it usually turned out to be someone else's fault. In other words, they were near perfect.

Today, there are many people in our nation, raised by Drs. Kildare, Casy and Welby, who don't realize that it isn't like that in the real world.

I NEED MORE TIME

I can't limit my attention to one patient at a time and problems are often ignored till they becomes too serious for a quick and easy solution. I often feel like a "juggler" who has to keep several things in the air at the same time.

If I'm called in the middle of the night my hair looks awful, I've got "morning-breath" and I may lose my temper when I think I should have been called hours or even days before. If I make a mistake, I have to take the heat myself and I'll probably be sued as well.

But alas, after years of looking skyward and appealing for help, the "weekly mini-series" has become popular. If the idea hangs around awhile I'll get some extra time. I might even get a chance to get out the old clubs and improve my game. By the way, is there a law that says doctors can only play golf on Wednesday afternoons? Many of my patients think there is.