Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Doctors have had it with tall tales (and those who tell them)

Steve Adelman, MD
Physician
January 21, 2022
9 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

The majority of my coaching clients are physicians. It isn’t easy for them these days. For the most part, doctors are rational types who believe in science, data, and facts. They have trouble understanding why so many of their patients seem to have signed on as extras in the unreality show of a skilled Pied Piper with a large and devoted following. How sad that so many people have followed this contemporary Pied Piper and his underling enforcers. To the tune of private label Muzak, they are marching into the ICU and the grave.

Children listen attentively to fairy tales while clutching their blankies or teddy bears. Comforting possessions of this sort are known as transitional objects by pediatricians and child psychiatrists. Just as these objects can be soothing, the fairy tales themselves can be touching and reassuring, reaching some people in a very deep and primal place. All the more so when the people believe in magic or can suspend disbelief. A battle is being waged between good and evil, and the wizard with special powers can make sense of it all and save the world.

Then there’s the windup and the delivery. Some storytellers have a knack for enrapturing their audiences. Mesmerizing stories compel. Especially when they live and breathe and are told over and over again, chapter after chapter, post after post, Tweet after Tweet. That kind of story may be the ultimate teddy bear. By the time you or your loved ones realize that an evil drug-pusher of sorts has disguised himself with teddies and blankies, you may already be intubated in the ICU.

Physician resilience? Our hearts are breaking over and over again, day after day. Separating children from their beloved blankies is an impossible mission. It’s not what we signed up for. We work hard, doing our best to heal and relieve suffering while bearing witness to the tenacity of belief systems that transform stress and complexity into tall tales of good and evil. The death part is hidden in the fine print, which nobody reads … except for those darn doctors.

Steve Adelman is a coaching and consulting psychiatrist and can be reached at his self-titled site, AdelMED.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Unrequited: love in the time of COVID-19

January 21, 2022 Kevin 0
…
Next

The pandemic has me angry, infuriated, demoralized, and scared

January 21, 2022 Kevin 4
…

Tagged as: Practice Management

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Unrequited: love in the time of COVID-19
Next Post >
The pandemic has me angry, infuriated, demoralized, and scared

More by Steve Adelman, MD

  • Should all health professionals be teetotalers?

    Steve Adelman, MD
  • The horror of darkened hearts

    Steve Adelman, MD
  • I’m covering the practice of a “Dr. Feel Good”

    Steve Adelman, MD

Related Posts

  • Why do doctors who hate being doctors still practice?

    Kristin Puhl, MD
  • Doctors: It’s time to unionize

    Thomas D. Guastavino, MD
  • Doctors die. But the good ones leave a legacy.

    Jaime B. Gerber, MD
  • When doctors are right

    Sophia Zilber
  • We’re doctors. We signed the book.

    Jonathan Peters, MD
  • Why doctors-in-training need better nutritional education

    Abeer Arain, MD, MPH

More in Physician

  • The patient who became my soulmate

    Anonymous
  • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

    Jean Antonucci, MD
  • Life as a physician is sometimes like a runaway trailer

    Christopher Nyte, DO
  • The controversial origin of the Hippocratic oath

    Brian Elliott, MD
  • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

    Stephanie Pearson, MD
  • Navigating life’s zero-sum game: the struggles of competitive health care professionals

    Deepak Gupta, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Unintended consequences of Health Care Quality Improvement Act: a violation of physicians’ civil and constitutional rights

      Farid Gharagozloo, MD & Rainer Gruessner, MD & Robert Poston, MD | Physician
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • An unspoken truth about non-compete clauses in medicine

      Harry Severance, MD | Policy
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Fostering the next (diverse) generation of clinicians

      Imamu Tomlinson, MD, MBA | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Why are doctors sued and politicians aren’t?

      Kellie Lease Stecher, MD | Physician
    • The Titanic sinking: a metaphor for the impending collapse of medicine

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD & Shreekant Vasudhev, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Redefining success: a journey of self-discovery and fulfillment [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Yoga and self-care won’t cure my Crohn’s disease

      Kristen L. Cole | Conditions
    • The patient who became my soulmate

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
    • Can AI solve the physician shortage crisis?

      Harry Severance, MD | Tech
    • Breaking barriers in arthritis care with telemedicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Another Win for a JAK Inhibitor in Alopecia Areata
  • 'It Is a Horrifying Prospect': What We Heard This Week
  • Temp Nurses Cost Hospitals Big During Pandemic. Lawmakers Are Now Mulling Limits.
  • Biologic Switch Revs Up Response in Plaque Psoriasis
  • Man Versus Malaria

Meeting Coverage

  • Another Win for a JAK Inhibitor in Alopecia Areata
  • Biologic Switch Revs Up Response in Plaque Psoriasis
  • Adding Pembrolizumab to Docetaxel Fails to Improve Survival in mCRPC
  • Moving Newer Agents Up Earlier in Advanced Bladder Cancer
  • Latest on Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Unintended consequences of Health Care Quality Improvement Act: a violation of physicians’ civil and constitutional rights

      Farid Gharagozloo, MD & Rainer Gruessner, MD & Robert Poston, MD | Physician
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • An unspoken truth about non-compete clauses in medicine

      Harry Severance, MD | Policy
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Fostering the next (diverse) generation of clinicians

      Imamu Tomlinson, MD, MBA | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Why are doctors sued and politicians aren’t?

      Kellie Lease Stecher, MD | Physician
    • The Titanic sinking: a metaphor for the impending collapse of medicine

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD & Shreekant Vasudhev, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Redefining success: a journey of self-discovery and fulfillment [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Yoga and self-care won’t cure my Crohn’s disease

      Kristen L. Cole | Conditions
    • The patient who became my soulmate

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
    • Can AI solve the physician shortage crisis?

      Harry Severance, MD | Tech
    • Breaking barriers in arthritis care with telemedicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today iMedicalApps
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Doctors have had it with tall tales (and those who tell them)
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...