Sunday, May 8, 2011
Post-Op Day 5: Surgery is Violent
The pain, swelling, bruises, and raw incision so much a part of these first few days of post-op remind me that surgery is inherently violent: A surgeon’s job is to cut, saw, rip, and otherwise dismember the human body. I know the "end justifies the means" rationale—that is what allowed me to give consent last Monday. But even though the procedure serves a greater good, the actions themselves are forceful, intense, violent. So I'm curious about who becomes a surgeon? Or, asked in a slightly different way, who is this person when being a surgeon? What is it like to perform actions that are unacceptable in any other arena? And how does the dehumanization that must be necessary to effectively do this work affect the way the surgeon experiences him(her)self and other human beings outside the OR?...
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i was just reading an E.R. doc's memoir and he talked about those moments where he disconnects from his humanity and performs the discrete tasks of his job--like when the child patient in from of him resembles his own son. the way he expressed it was that it was necessary, otherwise he would collapse.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it must be necessary, and especially so when reminded of a loved one. But what are the effects of this disassociation on the doc himself? It allows him to do the work that must be done, but at what cost to his humanity? What's the book title?
ReplyDeletePaul Austin, _something for the pain_ it wasn't really that recommendable, although Austin did talk a lot about the stress of his job that he couldn't just leave at the door.
ReplyDeleteyour questions are really interesting (how the work we do affects us). surgeons are stereotypically the alphas of the medical field--very, very competitive--i wonder how that relates to the violence of what they have to do.
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/4104581/article-ER-doc-uses-pages-to-tear-down-barriers
ReplyDeletereview of book