Bringing Ideals Back to Medicine
“Once I decided to do my own thinking, the first question I had to ask myself was: `Do you have any experiential evidence that forces you to assume a greater intellect operating in the universe?’ My answer was swift and positive. Experience demonstrated an orderliness of interactive, exceptionless principles. I was overwhelmed by this, and more convinced that my purpose was to abet the inclusion of human beings in the design of the universe. Everything that has happened to me since that time has been through my commitment to this greater integrity.”
– R. Buckminster Fuller
One of the things that happen to people when they gain experience in any field is the perspective that we get from carrying out our duties. When you have travelled the same road many times, and have had the opportunity to apply every bit of your creativity to make the journey successful, you truly know what you are talking about. And you may find that your perspective toward the end of the journey is somewhat different than the one you had at the beginning of the journey.
After over forty years in medicine, I have concluded we need to refocus our attention in healthcare. Yes, we need to continue combating disease as it appears, but we also need to focus on health. This is a different point of view for many people – both in the medical field and outside of it. It is very clear to me that we desperately need to promote health – and thereby prevent disease. Returning lost ideals to any field can refocus thinking and resources. Medical care can expand beyond just treating disease and work toward creating health and harmony through the Self-Referral Paradigm. (More on that in upcoming Substacks.)
When we consider pursuing the path to health - while combating disease as we encounter it - we need to examine the sweep of history that brought medical care to where we are now. How was medical care conducted in the past? Is today’s medical practice the way it always was, or has it changed?
Bringing Ideals Back to Medicine
The upcoming book Self-Referral/Maximum Health is about bringing ideals back to medicine. "Ideals?" you may think. "What ideals? Whose ideals? Aren't doctors, nurses and others working with ideals already? What are these ideals, anyway? Now that’s a silly question. Don’t we already know what the ideals of medicine are?”
Ideals are our highest possible aspirations. Some ideals include ethical behavior, universal love, respect for all, and working for world peace. The world's great religions teach these ideals. Because such ideals usually spring from our faith, they are among the strongest beliefs we have. They are the real inner force driving our lives.
Our personal list of ideals inspires us all. Perhaps one of the best statements about ideals came from a quote by Carl Schurz on a greeting card I received:
“Ideals are like stars: you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them, you reach your destination.”
Medicine is based on the well-known ideal of the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have done unto you,” we have heard taught by Jesus. “Treat other people the way you want to be treated.” What demonstrates this ideal better than helping sick or injured people regain their health?
While helping sick people is noble, many today say that ideals are too abstract, too impractical to apply to the field of medicine. Others say that business and political concerns have driven ideals from medicine like deer before a forest fire. How can we bring ideals back to the practice of medicine?
As R. Buckminster Fuller points out in his writings and in how he conducted his life, there is a greater integrity of the Universe that we need to consider. We may just do what we have to and leave it at that. But the greater integrity of the Universe suggests a lot more. We need to do the best job that we can to include humanity’s involvement as active participants in this integrity. We ust somehow live, yes, but we must live while making the world a better place.
We need to find a way back to the kind of medical care that was offered years ago before government, the insurance companies, regulators, lawyers, and business tycoons took over. What can we use as a yardstick to measure where medical care was when we liked it and were happy with it?
You have to be in the older age group to even know what I am talking about. Medical care in the forties and fifties was highly personal and one-on-one. People saw the doctor on an appointment basis as they do today – but there was no stopwatch running that cut visits short to allow a preplanned quota of patients per day that satisfies business concerns. If people got in and out in fifteen minutes – and they did, even in those halcyon days – that was fine with doctor and patient.
But if someone needed a half hour or even more time – that was okay too, because everyone understood when they were seen they would get the same consideration. How did the medical system work in those days? What can we learn from understanding that and applying it to today’s medical care? Stay with me and we will explore some good ideas.