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Editorial
The Greatest Job in the World
September 2011
Dear Readers,
It is difficult to have a conversation today without the topic of jobs coming up. Many people are frustrated with their current job and wish they could do something else. With the economy in the tank and good jobs scarce, you may feel that if you have a job, even one you don’t like, you had better hang on to it. Before you complain too much about your job, stop at your local pharmacy and purchase a rectal thermometer made by a certain well-known company. Open the package, remove the thermometer, and carefully read the instructions. You will notice in the small print there is a statement, “Every rectal thermometer made by (this company) is personally tested and then sanitized.” Just be thankful you do not work in the rectal thermometer quality control section at this company!
As healthcare providers, we have the greatest jobs in the world! Everyday we have a chance to use our training and knowledge to help people who are hurting and in need. Helping others is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying things I can think of doing. I think this is especially true when caring for patients with chronic wounds. Chronic wounds are now considered the new global epidemic because of their number and impact worldwide.1 So many patients with wounds have been told that there was nothing that could be done for them unless they wanted their leg amputated. It is tremendously rewarding to be able to tell patients of options that will not only save their legs but can result in healing. Sure, it may not be the most pleasant work—wounds smell bad, patients don’t always do what we ask, the list goes on, but to be sure, being able to help these people sure beats many jobs one could have. F.H. Ecker, former president and chairman of Metropolitan Life Insurance, said it best when he said, “I don’t think anybody yet has invented a pastime that’s as much fun or keeps you as young as a good job, especially one you enjoy.”
Unfortunately, there are those in our profession who miss the joy of wound care because they view it as just a way to earn a living. With that mindset they also miss the satisfaction of a job well done. Dr. William Osler, often called the father of modern medicine, said, “The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade, a calling, not a business, a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.”2 If financial benefit is all one is seeking, fulfillment will not be forthcoming. At the end of the day nothing has been accomplished except to have finished another day. What a sad way to spend one’s life.
I encourage you to realize what a tremendous job you have and what opportunities you have each and every day to influence the lives of others. With all the turmoil in our profession caused by the government, insurance companies, industry, and our hospital administrations, it is easy to lose sight of the goal—helping our patients. We must continually overcome these and other obstacles so we can realize our prime objective. If taking care of those in need isn’t the greatest job in the world, I don’t know what is. I hope you agree.
“Whoever takes up medicine should seriously consider the following points: firstly, that he must one day render to the Supreme Judge an account of the lives of those sick men who have been entrusted to his care. Secondly, that such skill and science as, by the blessing of Almighty God, he has attained, are to be specially directed towards the honour of his Maker, and the welfare of his fellow creatures.”3
—Thomas Sydenham, English physician (1624–1689)
1) Treadwell T, Keast DH. Site assessments: early steps on the journey toward outcomes. WOUNDS. 2010;22(3):71–77.
2) Osler W. The Master-word in Medicine (Address given to undergraduates at the medical school of the University of Toronto, October 1, 1903). In: The Master-word in Medicine. Baltimore, MD: John Murphy; 1903:29–30.
3) Sydenham T. The Works of Thomas Sydenham, MD. 3rd ed. Vol I. Translated by Latham RG. London: Sydenham Society; 1848–1850. Birmingham, AL: Classics of Medicine Library; 1979.
It is difficult to have a conversation today without the topic of jobs coming up. Many people are frustrated with their current job and wish they could do something else. With the economy in the tank and good jobs scarce, you may feel that if you have a job, even one you don’t like, you had better hang on to it. Before you complain too much about your job, stop at your local pharmacy and purchase a rectal thermometer made by a certain well-known company. Open the package, remove the thermometer, and carefully read the instructions. You will notice in the small print there is a statement, “Every rectal thermometer made by (this company) is personally tested and then sanitized.” Just be thankful you do not work in the rectal thermometer quality control section at this company!
As healthcare providers, we have the greatest jobs in the world! Everyday we have a chance to use our training and knowledge to help people who are hurting and in need. Helping others is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying things I can think of doing. I think this is especially true when caring for patients with chronic wounds. Chronic wounds are now considered the new global epidemic because of their number and impact worldwide.1 So many patients with wounds have been told that there was nothing that could be done for them unless they wanted their leg amputated. It is tremendously rewarding to be able to tell patients of options that will not only save their legs but can result in healing. Sure, it may not be the most pleasant work—wounds smell bad, patients don’t always do what we ask, the list goes on, but to be sure, being able to help these people sure beats many jobs one could have. F.H. Ecker, former president and chairman of Metropolitan Life Insurance, said it best when he said, “I don’t think anybody yet has invented a pastime that’s as much fun or keeps you as young as a good job, especially one you enjoy.”
Unfortunately, there are those in our profession who miss the joy of wound care because they view it as just a way to earn a living. With that mindset they also miss the satisfaction of a job well done. Dr. William Osler, often called the father of modern medicine, said, “The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade, a calling, not a business, a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.”2 If financial benefit is all one is seeking, fulfillment will not be forthcoming. At the end of the day nothing has been accomplished except to have finished another day. What a sad way to spend one’s life.
I encourage you to realize what a tremendous job you have and what opportunities you have each and every day to influence the lives of others. With all the turmoil in our profession caused by the government, insurance companies, industry, and our hospital administrations, it is easy to lose sight of the goal—helping our patients. We must continually overcome these and other obstacles so we can realize our prime objective. If taking care of those in need isn’t the greatest job in the world, I don’t know what is. I hope you agree.
“Whoever takes up medicine should seriously consider the following points: firstly, that he must one day render to the Supreme Judge an account of the lives of those sick men who have been entrusted to his care. Secondly, that such skill and science as, by the blessing of Almighty God, he has attained, are to be specially directed towards the honour of his Maker, and the welfare of his fellow creatures.”3
—Thomas Sydenham, English physician (1624–1689)
1) Treadwell T, Keast DH. Site assessments: early steps on the journey toward outcomes. WOUNDS. 2010;22(3):71–77.
2) Osler W. The Master-word in Medicine (Address given to undergraduates at the medical school of the University of Toronto, October 1, 1903). In: The Master-word in Medicine. Baltimore, MD: John Murphy; 1903:29–30.
3) Sydenham T. The Works of Thomas Sydenham, MD. 3rd ed. Vol I. Translated by Latham RG. London: Sydenham Society; 1848–1850. Birmingham, AL: Classics of Medicine Library; 1979.
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