Family doctor (1946) Part 1 of 3

[Music] Mother Mary. Yes. Who? Oh, Mr. Yes. Yes. Now, that's why I said to him. Yes. Yes. Oh, yes. Yes. He gave you quite the right advice. I could have done exactly to save myself. Nice to be alone tomorrow. Yes. Good night, Mr. Dup. Oh, John. That was Mrs. Baker on the telephone. She's a bit worried about your visit today. What's the matter? Betty's got measles, and I told Mrs. Baker to keep her warm, give her plenty of fresh air, darken the room, and bathe her eyes regularly, drink plenty of fluids, and take a simple inspection for the cough. Would you advise anything else? No. Well, why trouble then? With a perfectly simple, straightforward case. Not quite simple or quote forward. You see, John, in general practice, you'll soon find out that medicine isn't just a simple, straightforward matter of correct diagnosis and treatment. It's much more than that. It's also a matter of getting to know every one of your patients through and through and building up a bond of such confidence that they'll always trust you and to do the right thing. You're not going to be just any doctor who calls in when someone ills. You're going to become their doctor who understands them and whom they want to see and nobody else. As time goes on, some of the patients in the practice are going to want to see young Dr. Manning and not old Dr. Manning. Oh yes, they will. And others want me, not you. It's quite natural because they find something special on me that gives them confidence and for that reason the treatment will have greater effect. Up to now you've learned a great many facts. You've taken your bopy, zoologology, chemistry, physiology, and anatomy and the rest. After 2 and 1/2 years, you went to hospital. You put on your white coat and brought your stethoscope. Unfortunately, I felt a bit self-conscious about it at first. You learned how to examine bacteria under a microscope, how to connect the symptoms of a disease with the pathological specimens, how to prescribe drugs, and how to make up medicine. When you came to do your surgery, you soon found how important cleanliness is in preventing germs getting into wounds from the hands, the hair, the mouth, the nose, the thro, and of course the surgical instruments. You learn the right anesthetics to use and the right way of using them. In the war, you have learned the importance of accurate clinical examination. You notice how the alien are working and how the sterno mastoids are helping him to breathe. And be careful what you say in front of the patient. It may frighten and cause him a lot of unisy anxiety. Remember that when you qualify? You're qualified now and you've had your technical training. Probably a better one than I had. You know a great deal about the diseases of the body and you probably made some brilliant diagnosis already. No, I'm not laughing at you. I'd be just the same. But that doesn't make you a doctor. Not yet. You're just starting to learn. You wanted to join the practice. But I wonder if you realize what the life of a general practitioner is like. It's very different from what you've been used to. It's not easy. You're going to come up against a lot of difficulties. You'll be called out at all hours and in all weathers. You won't have a lot of leisure even to eat your meals. And somehow you'll have to make time to read the journals to keep up with all the latest work. You have to take plenty of responsibility and learn to rely on yourself and not on other people. When you write out a medical certificate, you must be the sole judge of the patient's health. You reconstruct it about almost anything under the sun and the daughter has been convicted of shoplifting. The favorite cat is called a con. You find out that scatular oroscope [Music] clical examination and so on are all very necessary but they aren't everything. When you start visiting your patients, rich or poor, in their homes or seeing them in the consulting room, you'll soon find out they're not just bodies of a disease or numbers in a card index system or forms to fill up. If you think they are, you better go into an office and become a civil servant. But don't take up general practice. No, your patients are live, warm human beings. fears, hope, worry, difficulties, their health. Your patients will want to talk about their troubles, and as a doctor, you need to hear about them if you're to give them the right treatment. But they will only talk freely to you if they know you will keep their secret and use your knowledge solely for their own good. And they must feel that they can talk freely. I've been in practice for a good many years now and of one thing at least I'm absolutely certain that the relationship between the family doctor and his patient is the foundation of sound medical treatment.