Indexing Title: RMUJER’s Medical Anecdotal Report [04-5]

MAR Title: Good Samaritan

Date of Medical Observation: June 2004

Narration:

Driving to work from my place in Pasay usually takes  twenty to thirty minutes. As a routine, I leave home for work exactly half an hour before our Department’s official sign-in time. Although this does not really give me enough to permit occasional road nuisance, I usually manage to avoid the consequences that come with being late to work.

One morning however, I woke up 10 minutes later than usual. I was quite worried because I was set to do an important errand for the Department early that day. So, I sped through my morning rituals to meet my daily 30-minute drive to OMMC. Everything was fine until I turned to P. Burgos St near Pasay where several by-standers crowded around what seemed to be a man sprawled on the ground. Before I could even think of anything, I had motioned that I stop my car. I pulled over and through my half opened window, I asked what the scene was about. I was then told that there was a case of a hit-and-run several minutes earlier. I was quite reluctant to get out of my car at first, worried that I was losing precious time, but something in my head told me to go out there and help. So, I squeezes my way through the crowd and walked to where the injured man was. I saw then that he was badly hurt but still very much alive. Up close, I could not help but feel sorry for the bloodied man and angry at the driver who had the nerve to leave him like that. Being a doctor, I know the importance of acting first in an emergency situation such as this so after checking and quickly assessing his status, I volunteered to take him to the nearest hospital. I could have just dropped him there at the ER but the receiving doctors asked me if I could stay for a while longer just so they could get some information that they think I could fill in. While helping with the History, a middle-aged woman came up to me. To my surprise, she took my hand and asked me if I was the good-hearted young man who helped her husband. Apparently, she was the wife of the hit-and-run victim and a neighbor had just informed her of the incident. I told her not to worry because the doctors would take care of her husband and he would soon be fine. But she squeezed my hand and told me that if it were not because of me, she would have lost him for good. She also thanked me for being the angel that God sent from heaven and I was the doctor she wanted to thank the most. She was smiling at me through her tears. I was so touched by what she said that I just smiled back.

When the time has come for me to leave, I realized how late I was. I hurried to my car and drove to OMMC. Upon arrival, I was informed of my going on a Sunday duty as a consequence of my being late. I uttered my excuse and apology to my seniors, but as I walked away from them, I knew that I started my day right and that would be one Sunday duty I’d be very glad to serve.

Insight (Discovery, Stimulus, Reinforcement)

To most people, a doctor is synonymous to a healer. He is usually referred to as that one individual who can make miracles happen. He treats the sick and saves those who are dying. Now, what other profession can gain one person as much respect as being a physician can? But as privileged as a feel that I am one of those few whom the society looks up to. I realized that all that prestige comes with responsibility, not bounded by time or by place. I realize that a real doctor does not limit himself within the confines of the hospital of the clinic where he works but rather, he should spread himself enough to maximize his role in the society. True enough, it is a lifetime of commitment and sacrifice, all for the higher good.

What made me bring that patient tom the hospital when I knew I was running late for work was my conscience telling me that to live up to my title, I should do what is right. Leaving a person to die when I could have done something to save his life just so I could carry on with my hospital responsibilities would never make me more of a doctor than I already am. In fact, it would even make me less of a person.

Not everyone can be a doctor, but I already am. Now, it is up to me to use this profession to its full potential by being a lifesaver and a healer at all times even in little ways that I can. After all, this profession should not only server as a bread-and-butter but a way of life.