Today's Doctors vs Yesterday's

The painting by Norman Rockwell titled "Doc Melhorn and the Pearly Gates" depicts an older doctor wearing all black with a black handbag and a stethascope. The doctor appears caring and gives the feeling of a grandfatherly figure. This was how doctors were look upon a a long time ago. Unfortunately that feeling has changed, even though people today wish their doctor was more caring. It seems today that people are afraid of their doctors because they are not used to the technology that their doctor uses. Today doctors use machines and technology that no ordinary person would know how to use and because it is new and different their patients are afraid. People also now look the qualities of a good doctor differently. It used to be what made a good doctor was that he was caring and thoughtful, but now in order for a doctor to be classified as "good" he must be the smartest in his field and be the most up-to-date on technology.


After looking at the painting by Norman Rockwell and photos of modern day doctors I have come to the conclusion that doctors are viewed almost as "higher-beings". We look to doctors today to be able to fix any medical problem we have and if we don't understand how or why they are doing something it means they are doing a good job. Doctors have their own language that nondoctors don't understand and we are beginning to grow accutsomed to no knowing. I think this is why people are afraid of going to their doctor though, even if they don't realize it. People are afraid because they don't know what's going on.


Insurance companies also play a huge role in our viewpoint of doctors in today's world. Insurance companies and HMO's portray doctors with high-tech images to give the effect that the doctor has the technology that we don't to fix whatever problem we have. This comforts us in a different way than a doctor comforted his patient a long time ago. A doctor is yesterday's world would comfort a patient by being nice and caring. However, today we are comforted knowing that our doctor is "better" than us.

All in all I guess what I am trying to say is that in the past and in the present doctors have always comforted their patients, just in different ways. it used to be that doctors were caring and could relate to their patients. Now, we are comforted by knowing our doctor is smarter, has more technology, can fix whatever problem we have, and by not knowing what is going on. It may seem as though we are scared and worried because we don't completely understand our doctor, but it is exactly that which comforts us.

Doc Melhorn and the Pearly Gates : Norman Rockwell