Dooley Noted: 9/21/2014
I meet my share of doctors who don’t take quality care of themselves.
I tend towards being in this group.
We tend to feed everyone around us, at the expense of our own health. This is compounded by the fact that we are consistently judged for the choices we make.
The expectation to be perfect can be a discouraging one. Since it can never be achieved, people tend to give up quickly and go downhill. It’s so easy to do – especially if you’re living your life for other people.
I’ve traded my training for a patient in need.
It’s philanthropic, right? It’s also damaging to my own health.
I’ve been judged for everything from eating sugar or soy to drinking coffee. Doctors are under microscopes within a crockpot of pressure.
But I learned what I had to do in order to be a good doctor and maintain my own health.
I had to slate in my training as a non-negotiable appointment with myself.
I had to pack food, so I would eat regularly.
I had to stop and drink water during an appointment.
Are these things distracting or inconvenient for my patients?
Possibly.
But to maintain my own health, I had to remember the coronary arteries. The heart feeds itself first. And if these arteries become occluded, it’s a quiet process. Until one day, your health is stolen by the “surprise” of an occlusion.
We need to take care of ourselves like those coronary arteries to minimize those health “surprises.”
We can all be held to the same health standard of putting our own health first – even doctors.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley