Messed Up

Empathy.

As medical students, one is taught to be empathic towards patients. In OSCEs, it is common to hear phrases such as, “that must be really hard for you,”, “I’m so sorry to hear that”, “You’re so brave,”, yada yada yada.

To be given the “empathy” mark, all you have to do is find the right time, the exact moment to use these classic phrases.

Then there’s real life.

If GP has taught me anything, it’s the reality that comes when a patient genuinely suffers from pain, anxiety and even low mood.

No matter how good the OSCE actors are, one can never substitute what happens to real people with real problems.

“That’s just so messed up,” I kept saying to my newfound friend, a fourth year medical student studying in Galway.

It seemed that every other patient that came in had some sort of darkness that was just…messed up.

Independent Medical Checkup

Ireland has one of the highest rates of litigation in the world per capita (population: 5million people ++).

One of the most frequent claims made is the right for compensation due to road traffic accidents.

Insurance companies are obliged to send their clients to get expert, unbiased medical opinions from GPs such as Tony. He’ll assess the medical side of things, getting a thorough history on the mechanism of injury, the degree of disability and the impact it has on the quality of life.

After examining Mrs PD, a 25-year-old housewife with three kids, Tony looked at me and sighed. (She had of course at that time left the room)

“Bloody cheat,” he exclaimed

“I don’t mean to be racist, but their kinds have been at it for so long. It’s the same modus operandi each time. They purposely slow down their car, brake suddenly and “bang”,” he was referring to the traveller community (wiki says) in Ireland.

A clinical examination of the purported “pain and stiffness” had so many inconsistencies that it just didn’t make sense.

“If it’s so obvious that they’re lying, why do they keep doing it? ” I asked, empathetically (snicker).

“Well it costs more to go to court, so most of the time the settlement is paid before it goes to a judge,” he said.

Wedding Bells

My aforementioned Iranian-Pakistani Galway-born medical student friend was extremely warm, courteous and kind. I felt that we connected a lot and shared many things in common.

Within an hour, we were already discussing the concept of marriage.

He had just got out of a 2-week marriage with an Iranian girl he hadn’t met before. His parents set him up to deter him from mixing with the wrong crowd, as he already had an Irish girlfriend.

Citing “cultural difference” as the main reason behind the divorce, I could understand how someone brought up in a western environment would struggle to adapt to the very rigid and authoritarian-like principles imposed by the girl’s family.

I'll spare ye the details.

“Marrying a girl also means “marrying” her family” he said with a distinctive Galway (Galwaegian?) accent.

Well said, my friend.

Moral of the story :

Life’s messed up. People have problems. You’re not the only one. Deal with it.