Before I could tell him this, he explained that the reason he called was that I hadn't registered my new health-card number with him on my last visit, and that my old number was no longer acceptable for billing purposes. I gave him my new number, he thanked me and hung up. I'm not saying Dr. Jekyll didn't have a legitimate reason for calling me. But a lawyer, more accustomed to being viewed in a dim light, would have approached the phone call in a more strategic manner. Doctors will have to become more sensitive to these considerations if they hope to remain alongside barbers and convenience store operators in their patients' esteem.
Respect is a gut feeling based partly on prior experience, partly on wishful thinking.
We tend to respect them more than lawyers because we have calculated that it's in our best interests to respect them. Our psychological relationship with lawyers isn't nearly as complex or duplicitous, which is why so many of us feel free to disparage them. Law is a relatively thankless profession whose members have to look inward for esteem and satisfaction. Medicine is a relatively admired profession whose practitioners don t seem to care all that much what others think of them. In this narrow sense, the two professions perfectly complement one another.