I had a patient who was a complete drain on society. He's a fifty year old drug addict who keeps worsening his heart failure every time he smokes crack that he purchased with welfare checks. He comes to the hospital because he can't breathe and stays a couple nights at the taxpayer's expense. He's a deadbeat father and a burden on society and those around him.
So, if I were keeping it real, I'd slap him across the face and tell him he's being a terrible citizen and an awful father. The taxpayers shouldn't fork over thousands of dollars every time he wants to get high. He takes and takes and takes from everyone else around him, and he feels entitled to it. "You're a junkie, and I can't believe you would put your daughter through this," I would say.
But I don't keep it real. I don't say any of these things. I simply tell him to stop smoking crack, or he's going to kill himself. I'm part of the problem. Nobody is doing this guy any favors by allowing him to feel entitled or by letting him think this is anyone's fault but his own (even if it isn't his fault).
And to prove that "compassionate" methods aren't working, he came back to the hospital a few days later because he couldn't breathe. His urine was once again positive for cocaine. In hindsight, I wished I had kept it real and slapped him.
half moon console table
3 years ago
13 comments:
the wolf is so real right now it freaking hurts
-Benz
if i'm honest, i am a bit scared of you right now. please never slap me.
so, "real" when it comes to telling other people what's wrong with THEM, but "not real" when it comes to telling other people what's wrong with YOU.
Record scratch.
Cue crickets.
I see nothing in Justin's post where he says he does not admit he is wrong. I also think J's feelings are echoed by most people who see this type of disrespect for the "fellow man" on a continued basis. I worked a Section 8 property in college as a maintenance man. I had these same feelings all the time as babies were crawling in floors with beer bottles and feces while their parents watched a big screen TV that we (taxpayers) paid for with our hard earned money. His desire to tell these type of people whats "real" is felt by all of us. However his restraint is admirable because his position as a doctor is not to scold this man. Of course the most famous doctor in the country is HOUSE and he scolds...
Also, Justin lays it all out on this blog. If you are going to attack him personally and not the topic maybe you should have a blog so that we can do the same to you.
-Logan
no joke I think I had this guy as a patient too...really thought I got through to him...
Honestly I can understand your feelings. It's hard to work in a profession where you see people ruining lives and taking tax payer money while doing it. As a teacher working in a low income area I often come across high parents, or kids that are a product of their parents drug use. They take advantage of the system, and sadly know how to. Which makes me even sadder because if they have brains enough to do that, then imagine what some of these people would have been capable of in other circumstances. They're also perpetuating a cycle that will continue with most of their children and so on. It's hard to restrain yourself from what you really want to say or do. And truly they are being done a disservice, but really when you look at it...if all of the problems they have encountered have lead to that behavior than anything I have to say will not change it. It's sad, but makes me work even harder to show my students that they don't have to be that way. And for every patient that makes Justin feel this way, I know there are others that he feels success with. But, everyone has to vent.
all this is exactly why i eschew human contact as much as possible.
p.s. did an anonymous poster just call someone out for being afraid to keep it real? ironic.
and for the record, as yjy's former dallas-apk partner, i can assure you that when it comes to admitting his own shortcomings, he most definitely keeps it real. super real. realer than you can imagine.
Anonymous writes "so, "real" when it comes to telling other people what's wrong with THEM, but "not real" when it comes to telling other people what's wrong with YOU."
Pretty hard to tease that out of the post. Unless you're dumb - and use capital letters to emphasize your points. Keep trying...
Man, Justin is the worst.
Justin, I am very proud of you as usual. America is in the mess it's in right now because people on several levels refused to accept personal responsibility, just as I sense in a comment or two here.
Dad
I agree w/ your dad on all points. In addition to that people then seem to feel entitled to compensation, luxuries, other amenities that they have done little or nothing to deserve or preserve for the benefit of others.
Sometimes people just need to be slapped, receiving immediate consequences for their actions and sometimes they need to be gracefully reminded over and over. The hard part is figuring out which action to take.
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