T H E D O C TO R’ S B AG
Clubhouse Rules! ALL-TALK, NO GAMES
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Wri t t en by N a t ha n Ec k el
few weeks ago I was invited to participate in a Clubhouse discussion led by fellow Physician Outlook contributor, Dr. Marion Mass. Clubhouse is a new social media channel. Its ‘drop in’ audio-only format makes it a fast favorite for anyone who wants to connect video-free and relatively drama-free. There is only audio and the medium has a wonderfully humanizing effect, especially with a facilitator like Marion. One of the points that Marion eloquently made is that physicians are not in charge of the system of medicine anymore. Medicine has been taken away from the doctors, and Marion’s point is that medicine is not going to be restored 1 4 | 2 0 2 1 VO LU M E 2
without physicians stepping up and reclaiming medicine. Growing Up In Medicine As a non-physician, I had the unusual privilege of experiencing firsthand how special the physician-patient relationship could be - and how much has been lost. Growing up, my bedroom was a floor above my doctor father’s waiting room until I was 10. In my late 70s world, it was normal to have my 900 square foot basement serve not as a TV room but as a busy medical clinic. It was homey and the patients loved the close knit feel and enjoyed their doctor’s high level of personalized care and autonomy.
And while my father was human and subject to grogginess when patients called in labor at 3 AM, he always rallied and adjusted his mindset so that he could treat his patients as if they were family. It is easy to realize why he was so overwhelmingly loved and appreciated by his patients. In an odd technological twist, 40 years later, I am saddened when I read my childhood friends’ Facebook posts lamenting that they are having trouble finding a new family doctor or pediatrician for their own families. “I’m heartbroken. My family doctor just announced he was retiring.” they write. It was ironic to read and to feel their grief, on Facebook, as well as the shock of having to find someone who
