I have several friends who are in the process of moving into the medical field. I was talking to one of these future health professionals three days ago. We were talking about death and dying when I mentioned that for some hospital workers repeated experiences of death must be desensitizing.
This thought made my friend cringe. It was the kind of cringe that said, without saying, “I can’t believe you can be so insensitive.” It was also the kind of cringe that indicated she wasn’t being rational or really thinking about my comment. It seemed knee-jerk and, in fact, she did say, “You never get over death.”
She is right, but I know she misunderstood me. In hindsight, I suppose I should have used the word accustomed instead of desensitized. Human beings are sensitive creatures, but they can become accustomed to particular environments.
My comment was really about the individual who experiences death on a regular basis. For these individuals, a small part of them must be used to the idea of death; their psyche doesn’t collapse every time someone dies. It is part of the job, an occupational occurrence that must be accepted in order to maintain emotional stability and provide quality care.
It would be hard to imagine a majority of health professionals having an emotional breakdown every time a patient died. If this were true, our healthcare industry would see large numbers of employment turnover from orderlies to physicians. And the effort to fill such positions would be far greater than it is today.
Emotions are affected by death. No one can deny this. But to believe that everyone should be emotionally equal to the experience of death is wrong because not everyone is the same.
I tried to justify my comment to this friend but the more I tried the more we seemed to loose understanding of each other. Her brow furrowed deeper and her eyes rejected my explanation. Eventually, I gave up and agreed with her position, or at least I tried to convince her that I was now encamped near her view.
As I reflected on my experience that day, I thought about the future. I thought about this friend moving into the healthcare industry, and I wondered if her view would change or if she would one day decide on a different career, one outside the experience of death.
Copyright © Tyler Gant 2009
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The Man Who Screams
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Time Is All In Your Head
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Right Thought
A Thought About Death
by Tyler Gant
I have several friends who are in the process of moving into the medical field. I was talking to one of these future health professionals three days ago. We were talking about death and dying when I mentioned that for some hospital workers repeated experiences of death must be desensitizing.
This thought made my friend cringe. It was the kind of cringe that said, without saying, “I can’t believe you can be so insensitive.” It was also the kind of cringe that indicated she wasn’t being rational or really thinking about my comment. It seemed knee-jerk and, in fact, she did say, “You never get over death.”
She is right, but I know she misunderstood me. In hindsight, I suppose I should have used the word accustomed instead of desensitized. Human beings are sensitive creatures, but they can become accustomed to particular environments.
My comment was really about the individual who experiences death on a regular basis. For these individuals, a small part of them must be used to the idea of death; their psyche doesn’t collapse every time someone dies. It is part of the job, an occupational occurrence that must be accepted in order to maintain emotional stability and provide quality care.
It would be hard to imagine a majority of health professionals having an emotional breakdown every time a patient died. If this were true, our healthcare industry would see large numbers of employment turnover from orderlies to physicians. And the effort to fill such positions would be far greater than it is today.
Emotions are affected by death. No one can deny this. But to believe that everyone should be emotionally equal to the experience of death is wrong because not everyone is the same.
I tried to justify my comment to this friend but the more I tried the more we seemed to loose understanding of each other. Her brow furrowed deeper and her eyes rejected my explanation. Eventually, I gave up and agreed with her position, or at least I tried to convince her that I was now encamped near her view.
As I reflected on my experience that day, I thought about the future. I thought about this friend moving into the healthcare industry, and I wondered if her view would change or if she would one day decide on a different career, one outside the experience of death.
Copyright © Tyler Gant 2009
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