By Larry Bauer with permission
From Family-L I was talking with another listmember last night about the BioPsychoSocial BPS model and he used a word which grabbed me: treasure.
OK it was me!
The use of the word treasure came from my experiences with family physicians. I entered FP after working as a clinical social worker. At first I felt like a stranger in a strange land. I had worked with a number of professional groups prior to going to Penn State Hershey. I was intrigued as I began to learn of this group's practices and approach to care.
Over a period of time, I decided to go "native". That is I cut myself off from the type of people I worked with before as I was the only non-FP in the Department and there were few clinical behavioral types that I interacted with. The Dept of Psychiatry was noxious and I stayed away. (Yes there's more to that story)
Going native was an anthropological experience for me. I went everywhere the residents and faculty went. And any chance I had to mix with FPs in the community I did so. I hung out with them socially, etc. What I found was a group of people who TREASURED taking care of people. It was at the core of their beings. To this day I find that most FPs treasure taking care of people; not doing things to people but caring for them.
Embracing the BPS model flows from this. The interest in communication and office counseling skills comes from that core. The invention of End of Life care, and a host of other areas flows from this treasuring.
Their style of teaching also comes from that core. Most do not like lecturing because it doesn't sit right. As a group they were very receptive to my approach to faculty development because they connected with the learners and did not want to inflict on them what they had found noxious.
I can honestly say that I believe that most people in this country respect and value FPs. FPs are a people-oriented group. You like people more than procedures and skills, though I know many who enjoy using procedures and skills in their practices and that's a fine thing. I do not know anyone outside of academe and the medical profession who do not have a high regard for FPs. There are plenty of folks in academe who do hold generalists (of any type) in disregard.
I think people in this country think that many types of docs are techy, nerdy, geeks and lots of them are greedy and expect big incomes and they question their compassion for others. I think many students entering medical school have a high income expectation and those that do choose the specialties that will reward them in that way. They are fundamentally different from the "people-oriented" students.
One of FPs greatest lever and strength is an orientation to service. They find ways to use their abilities to serve others and do a better job of it than most academic FPs give them credit for.
Some have figured out how to use this approach to succeed. Others use it to hold a job. It’s an incredibly powerful force in the hands of a medical professional who enjoys people and can communicate this value through his/her service. Leaders respond to it (that is, if possible they will pick this type of physician for their care because they expect quality service and they want someone who is available to them whenever they and their families need care). In my opinion, one of the mistakes that many of our leaders have made is to not offer this type of service to the rich and the powerful as well as to other groups. FPs could be the mediums/translators in a community that helps the wealthy and the powerful stay connected to those in need.
I have too many stories to back this up to listen to anyone say that people do not value FP. No one gives away anything valuable (money) just for the asking. They want the service and they will pay for it. So there is need to figure out how to offer this service to the rich and the famous in every community. If anyone wants to hear the stories so you can learn how to succeed in this way, contact me offline. If there is one error that I think FPs are guilty of, on average, it's that they dream too small and settle for too little. You are better than your current dreams.
Larry Bauer