I have definately seen a lot of change over the past thirty years, most of it good. I am witness to a much different atmosphere now. In my opinion, there is more anger, frustation, disappointment, disillusion, rudeness, apathy, loss of caring, than EVER seen in the entire history of Medicine. Patients are rude to doctors and nurses. Doctors are uncaring to patients and nurses.
Nurses are apathetic to patients and disrespectful to doctors.
And so on. So in tonight's movie, my heart went out to every single participant in one way or another. I don't know what direction all this change will take. I do know that I feel scared and afraid of what lies ahead, and for me anyway, providing healthcare will never again have the reward and satisfaction of truly trusting, reciprocating relationships that I have known during these past thirty years. One underappreciated consequence in the stampede to managed care is the destruction of the infrastructure of medicine.