4/27/26
This quote by Katelyn Jetelina, from her latest Your Local Epidemiologist Substack post, sums up so much of what is now missing in the current U.S. “Healthcare” system.
We physicians chose MEDICINE – the once time honored profession of helping, healing, forming trusted relationships with our patients, lifelong learning, science and evidence based research. Founded on the four pillars of medical ethics: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.
We chose medicine because we care. We want to help, heal, comfort, teach, and share our expertise.
We are determined, self motivated, independent thinkers, who excelled in our educational studies and earned our way into medical school, through hard work, determination, gumption, a will to succeed and a want to serve, help, discover, and share what we’ve learned.
Enthralled by science, anatomy, biology, physiology, chemistry, physics, psychology, mathematics, how things work, change, are made, and function, we willingly spent our young adulthood studying, learning, awake, earning the trust of our mentors, instructors, and seasoned physicians, so as to be allowed to care for patients independently. Years of “see one, do one, teach one”, lectures, labs, exams, gaining skills, learning, doing, so as to become proficient and trusted that we are capable, able, and trusted to do right by and for our patients.
We physicians honed our craft through years of education, experience, training, creativity, community, formed relationships with our fellow students, residents, fellows, and attending physicians. A step-wise systematic approach to becoming a trusted healer, a learned expert in medicine and surgery, an autonomous thinker and leader, a board certified physician.
We physicians chose medicine, not to scam, dupe, convince, manipulate, make a quick buck, spread disinformation, or create disease.
We physicians chose medicine because we care.
