After a few months of dealing with very sick patients and shadowing very good doctors who are always doing the best they can to keep their patients alive, I decided to add this series to my medical school journal. I have encountered sleep-deprived, depressed doctors who don’t even realize that some of their patients actually have better mental health status than them. Most doctors care for their patients at their own expense. It is true that mental health issues are more common in doctors than any other professional group.
The sick doctor is a term used for a medically qualified doctor who suffers from one or more psychological problems directly or indirectly related to the practice of medicine.
thefreemedicaldictionary.com
A Legacy of Respect, a Shadow of Addiction
Growing up as child, I knew that a doctor is one of the most respected people in the society. I didn’t know many of them as a child. My late grandfather (God bless his Soul) had a personal doctor whom he spoke so highly of. He believed that he was the best doctor in that entire region. Had you told him that you had been from one hospital to another, he would happily refer you to his friend, who was always very affordable. And for some reason he was always right about this doctor. There was one issue though; his doctor was also his drinking buddy. They both suffered what I’d now call a substance use disorder. I know what you are thinking, but no, he was not a medicine man. He was a fully qualified medical doctor.
Sick Doctors: Why Are They More Prone to Mental Health Issues?
My grandpa was a chain smoker for many years, yet he had a friend who was an excellent doctor. Despite all his doctor knew about substance use and the damage it would cause to his body, they would often meet to ‘give thanks to the body’ with a drink or two. One of my lecturers taught us that when a patient says that they take a drink or two, you should take that as a metaphor to mean they are probably addicted to alcohol. The title this doctor held was so highly respected such that some people would typically buy him a drink to stimulate his brain, especially in the morning so that he could treat them.
Addicted to alcohol doctor drinking in clinic, trying to relieve stress at work
I used this short story to illustrate the irony I have noticed in the medical field. A lot of doctors and health care workers know how to live healthy lives, but they don’t always do it. I am aware that this is not a new problem. We have so many ‘sick’ physicians. Why is that so?
