La conciencia y la esencia del médico en dos películas

Abstract

Two films -one Spanish set in Colombia, the other Belgian- that have a common denominator, and provoke a vocational questioning: What is the meaning of being a doctor? Why we choose this profession? And then, the logical question: how to train doctors today, when it seems that the system does not help? Building medical professionalism faces unique challenges that come from within the healthcare system. Attention is focused on processes and results, and the patient is very often forgotten. The patient becomes a detail or, worse, an element that problematizes the system, designed for theoretical situations, without contemplating the necessary unpredictability of the human being. The possible solution suggests the need to form a culture-group, able to work together with professionals who are happy and proud to be doctors and dedicate themselves to caring for patients. The doctor is a conscience in the face of a trust that the patient gives him. For this reason, reflecting on medical practice is essential for learning and awakening this professional awareness. Only when we think about our performance, about how we learn from each encounter with the patient, we can improve and acquire new attitudes. Posture that is integrity and at the same time dedication and loving care, where true competence and wisdom are grafted, as demonstrated by exemplary doctors of all times. And at the bottom, to learn that wisdom is not only knowing things, but also loving them.