Why I Do What I Do

My colleagues, especially those who have known me for a while, and many lay people often ask me why I do what I do. Why do I practice medicine in a hospice? Isn’t it sad? Don’t I get depressed? My answer is always the same: There is a lot of sadness in the work I do. I treat people who are dying. On the other hand, I get to help. I help patients and their families through one of the most difficult journeys they will ever embark in. My job is to make it less hard; to soften the blow. Along the way, there are clinical challenges that I find intellectually stimulating but, most importantly, my life is enriched by the privilege of being with people when they are most vulnerable. There is an intimacy in Palliative Care that is not possible in any other specialty. This is important to me. My models are physicians who gave of themselves to their patients. One taught me that I should be paying patients for the privilege of treating them. Another one, Jeronimo Dominguez, my primary care physician when I was growing up in Washington Heights, New York City, taught me that, regardless of technology, people need the human touch. A doctor has to spend time and listen to patients. He couldn’t care less whether they paid or not. He was an excellent clinician who found the time to talk to all his patients. I wanted to be like that. I don’t know if I am as good a clinician as my role models, but I do know that every day I emulate their example and, as a result, am enriched by the people who I am privileged to come in contact with.