The Feeling of Epiphany - Essay Example

The Feeling of Epiphany Sometimes in life, people face situations that change the way they look at life. The professional practice and ethics that a doctor is supposed to follow clearly guide him/her on interacting with his/her patients. As a professional, a doctor should be able to keep his/her personal feelings and emotions out of his/her relationship with patients. Emotions such as frustration and anger should never be directed to patients. Dealing with other human beings can be a daunting task. However, before pursuing a career such as medicine, an individual should be prepared emotionally and mentally to deal with various difficult situations (Hewson 273). While at work, a doctor will encounter people with varied problems, attitudes and personalities. Sometimes, the pressures of life and problems that people encounter each day may push them to the edge of their patience. At such times, doctors will take out their anger and frustration on their patients, in complete contravention of the code of conduct they should follow. Before judging them, one should first understand their state of mind and the circumstances surrounding their reactions. According to the Doctor’s stories, patients fail to understand that they too are human. Some of them fail to understand that doctors too get tired and have problems since they are human beings. The storyteller has human feelings and empathizes with a patient brought in after a violent arrest incident. However, despite these feelings, he realizes that he has to change the way he deals with him to be able to help him (Hewson 489). The doctor has learnt a lesson that sometimes in life in order to do the right thing and help people, one has to do something wrong first. While the doctor is trying hard to hold the patient still, he is resisting and trying to fight off even those who are trying to help him (Chrisette 489). This is a classic case of people who put up fights even when it is not helping them. However, despite having to do something wrong in order to help someone else, the guilt associated with the act can be quite difficult to get over. The doctor had to use extreme measures to pin down the patient and secure his head in place so that he can stich him. The doctor used threads and then adopted an almost diabolical attitude to enable him treat the patient. The diabolical attitude was effective in scaring the patient into submission. The patient probably thought that he could bully the doctor trying to put up a show of defiance. He did not expect the doctor to react the way he did. Naturally, the doctor was not a diabolical person neither was he used to the using force to achieve his objectives. The sudden change of attitude was effective in subduing the patient and subsequently stitching up the wound. Thinking about these events later, the doctor may be glad that he was able to help the patient but feels guilty for not apologizing for his behavior (Chrisette 256). The doctor however faces some problems trying to interpret and justify his actions. He is not sure whether his reaction was purely in the best interests of the patient or just a quick fix to end a tiring day. He had been on duty until 3 AM and was therefore very tired. The patient’s behavior was making it very difficult for him to do his job and increasing the number of hours he had to work. This may have prompted him to adopt the diabolical attitude so that the problem could be solved easily. Sometimes, one has to lower him/herself to the level of another human being to be able to deal with him/her. The patient lived in a world of defiance and resistance. The police had already adjusted themselves to his life and lowered themselves to his level. This explains the way they treated him beating him and handling him roughly. This treatment caused the injury on the patient’s forehead and was the reason why he needed medical attention. The doctor was trained to follow a code of ethics in treating patients, despite the way they respond to him. However, the situation he was presented with required him to disregard this training and treat the patient in an unprofessional manner. This can be a basis for him to be charged with unprofessional conduct and harassment of his patient. He was willing to take all these risks in order to stitch up the patient’s wound. This required a certain level of dedication to the job that few people have. Despite the patient’s protests and aggressive attitude, the doctor could see some good in him. Some of the fear that came over the patient when the doctor intimidated him was attributed to his concern for his family. The doctor knows that there is some good in each human being because the basic nature of human beings is good. The reason why he was caught on the wrong side of the law was because he was trying to find something for his family. One of the things that the doctor realizes is that people will do anything to provide for their families. Life can be quite tough on people but they still have dependents looking up on them to provide food for them. During such times, people resort to any necessary measures to meet their obligations. The man may have committed a crime in an attempt to meet his obligations to his family. The doctor is therefore sympathetic towards him for this. Another thing that the doctor realizes from the conduct and behavior of the patient is that everyone has dignity that he/she seeks to protect. The patient may have been beaten and outnumbered by the police officers but he did not submit to their will. He struggled all the way in an attempt to retain his dignity from the treatment he was receiving from the officers. Even on the doctor’s table, the patient still wanted to put up a fight since he perceives the doctor’s voice as one of oppression. He is willing to undergo a lot of physical pain by refusing the doctor’s help simply to prove a point that he has his dignity intact. However, as the reality of the situation sinks in, the patient submits to the doctor’s will. Sometimes, people cannot understand how serious an individual is about his/her resolve until he/she uses extreme measures. When faced by a hopeless situation, it would be best for an individual to cut his losses and move on. The patient realized that it would be him losing by the largest margin and therefore decided to give up his protest. Such situations could come up at any point in life. When they do, the best action and individual could take would be to retreat. Although the doctor felt frustrated by the patient not submitting and giving him a hard time, he was still concerned for the health of his patient. At the end of the ordeal as the cops take him away, he yells to them to handle the patient with care. This shows that though he may have shown a darker side to the patient, he still cared and wanted to see him get better. Though people may give others a hard time and make their jobs almost impossible, they do not lose their human touch. Though it seems like a good policy to fight fire with fire, it does not always work especially since the conscience of a human being does not allow him/her to go some extremes. This explains why the doctor states that he will always be sorry that he did not get an opportunity to make it up to the patient for the way he smiled crookedly at him after torturing him. Though he did this for the greater good of healing him of his wounds, he still felt guilty because he knew the patient thought he was just being callous. People have feelings for other human beings and this cannot be subdued by any other factors. Despite the frustration that the doctor feels because of the patient’s behavior, he still goes the extra mile to try helping him. The doctor realizes that human beings will always have these feelings and no matter what happens, they will try to help each other where necessary. The patient also experiences an epiphany that enables him to realize that other people care about him. Despite his bitter utterances to the doctor he still takes the huge risk of helping him recover from his wounds. He also realizes that despite his pride and dignity, sometimes he has to let go of situations where he is overpowered. The doctor pins him down in such a way that he cannot resist him. The patient also comes to the realization that his family holds a lot of value in his life. He is willing to do many things to ensure that they have what they need to survive. The lesson for him is that though he may do wrong, people will still care about him and try to help him where need be. Works Cited Chrisette, Michele. Epiphany. New York, N.Y: Def Jam, 2009. Sound recording. Hewson, David, and Peter Marinker. Epiphany. Rothley, Leicester: Clipper Audio, 2009. Internet resource. The Epiphany. Calcutta, 1883. Print. Read More