Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The people who changed the world may surprise you

Michael Kirsch, MD
Physician
October 13, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share

Patients are cool.   I did a colonoscopy on a hospitalized man who was saddled with the ravages of obesity, diabetes, sleep apnea and respiratory disease.  My partner had performed the initial consultation, and it was my task to bring light into a dark place by performing a colonoscopy.  I engaged in some conversation prior to the procedure, not simply to acquire relevant medical facts, but also to establish some rapport with a man I hadn’t met before, who I was poised to violate.  I learned that he was a Navy SEAL decades ago during the Vietnam war, and enjoyed some leisure time in Cambodia then.  He mentioned that he was waterboarded during his training repeatedly and described it as a routine exercise.  Yikes.  When I was his age, I was dissecting a cadaver in medical school.  The most risk I faced was crossing a New York City street.

Fast food workers are cool.  I often stop in the morning at a McDonalds near one of the community hospitals we serve.   This is where I can spread out a few newspapers and sip a carbonated beverage that has zero nutritive value.  I love the older music that is piped in there from the 50s and 60s.  Denny serves me up when I arrive with courtesy and a smile.  He’s entered the senior phase of life, similar to many other workers at fast food establishments.

Although the food may be fast, Denny isn’t.  He has one speed that is between neutral and first gear.  He’s the kind of guy who just can’t be rushed, despite whatever pressure might be exerted upon him.   We all know folks like this.  Sometimes, I felt myself becoming impatient with this avuncular man who moved at the pace of a loris.

Patience is a lost virtue in a world that demands instantaneous data retrieval and communication.  In my parent’s day, I don’t think they would suffer apoplexy if the person in front of them in the supermarket check-out line was counting out some change.  It took months before I discovered that Denny was an intelligence officer who flew on combat missions during the Vietnam war.  What was I doing then?   Trying out for Little League or participating in some equally perilous activity.  Denny has earned the right to move a little slower than the Instagram generation demands.  We can learn a lot from Denny.

Teachers are cool.  I recall a patient who was a science teacher.  I have enormous respect for educators and their profession.   I am partial to science teachers, not only because of my own love of the subject, but also because this country needs to cultivate science and math excellence for our self-preservation.   While I admired him for his career choice, I was in awe of his prior profession.  He was the commander of a nuclear submarine.  While he was circumnavigating the planet, I was writing college application essays.

I am regularly amazed and awed to learn of the heroic and extraordinary acts of seemingly ordinary individuals.   I am also so impressed with their modesty and understatement.  Over the years, I have learned about their accomplishments because I have asked, not because they have volunteered their heroics, which they often shrug off.

Who’s serving you French fries and a burger?  If you’re not in too much of a rush, you might learn that the man who is giving you change, might have changed the world.

Michael Kirsch is a gastroenterologist who blogs at MD Whistleblower.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

The world of the eager medical intern is one that I am accustomed to

October 13, 2015 Kevin 0
…
Next

A nurse by herself. At the end of a life.

October 13, 2015 Kevin 13
…

Tagged as: Gastroenterology

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The world of the eager medical intern is one that I am accustomed to
Next Post >
A nurse by herself. At the end of a life.

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Michael Kirsch, MD

  • Are Ozempic patients on a slow-moving runaway train?

    Michael Kirsch, MD
  • AI-driven diagnostics and beyond

    Michael Kirsch, MD
  • The surprising truth behind virtual visits

    Michael Kirsch, MD

Related Posts

  • Advocating for people with disabilities: People First Language

    Leonard Wang
  • Why do people hate Obamacare?

    Julie Rovner
  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • People who take opioids are the AIDS patients of today

    Heather Finlay-Morreale, MD
  • How Hurricane Harvey changed this medical student

    Ryan Jacobs
  • Physician Suicide Awareness Day: Where are the patients? 

    Jennifer M. Sweeney

More in Physician

  • Why working in Hawai’i health care isn’t all paradise

    Clayton Foster, MD
  • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

    Patrick Hudson, MD
  • Why compassion—not credentials—defines great doctors

    Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib
  • Why Canada is losing its skilled immigrant doctors

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

    Maureen Gibbons, MD
  • Why screening for diseases you might have can backfire

    Andy Lazris, MD and Alan Roth, DO
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

      Noah Weinberg | Conditions
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Who will train the next generation of primary care clinicians without physician mentorship? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • The CDC’s restructuring: Where is the voice of health care in the room?

      Tarek Khrisat, MD | Policy
    • Choosing between care and country: a dual citizen’s Independence Day reflection

      Kathleen Muldoon, PhD | Policy
    • What Elon Musk and Diddy reveal about the price of power

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Conditions
    • 3 tips for using AI medical scribes to save time charting

      Erica Dorn, FNP | Tech

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 14 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

      Noah Weinberg | Conditions
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Who will train the next generation of primary care clinicians without physician mentorship? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • The CDC’s restructuring: Where is the voice of health care in the room?

      Tarek Khrisat, MD | Policy
    • Choosing between care and country: a dual citizen’s Independence Day reflection

      Kathleen Muldoon, PhD | Policy
    • What Elon Musk and Diddy reveal about the price of power

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Conditions
    • 3 tips for using AI medical scribes to save time charting

      Erica Dorn, FNP | Tech

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

The people who changed the world may surprise you
14 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...