Challenge #04729-L345: The Hardest Thing to Learn

The Master-Healer looks upon their apprentice with sadness. "There is one lesson I must teach you yet."
~What is it Master?~
"The fact... sooner or later, we will fail"
https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=eny9wNGzYAc -- Anon Guest

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"This, above all, I will do no harm," recited the trainee Medik, Min. "I will treat my patients with respect and heed their complaints. I will ask permission where I do not need to act with urgency. I will do my utmost to see them in comfort and ease, whilst seeing to their needs." They were gleaming and proud in their new uniform. Neat and fresh as a daisy.

"Very nice," said Medik Nuz, "Very important, of course. Now you must learn the hard part. You'll learn a lot of it during your nursing years, but there are harder lessons to learn. I'll tell you them, now. And I can only hope you remember them."

"Aside from RTFC[1], doctor?"

"RTFC is a decent start. No. The difficult lesson is about where the exceptions to your vow lie. When you don't tell the truth because it will make everything worse. Where ending a life is more merciful than making it drag on. When seeing to a patient's comfort and ease will shorten their lifespan, but will make them happy. And finally, when fighting for a patient's life is a battle you are going to lose."

"Triage," whispered Min. "When to sort the quick from the dead. Even when they're all still breathing."

"Yes," said Nuz. "Knowing exactly when a quiet mercy is better than a painful struggle for one more day. It's not about the fight of life versus death, it's the fight for quality of life, and its improvement in this grand tapestry in which we live. For the patient, for their family, for their continuing days. A good doctor acts on that decision. A great doctor feels it. Heart, soul, and body. Every time. And it should weigh heavily on you."

"I think I understand."

"Intellectually, perhaps. Emotionally? Only time can truly teach it. I sincerely hope you become a great doctor. And I pray to the Powers that you never have to make those weighty decisions."

[1] A variation on RTFM (Read The Flakking Manual), RTFC stands for "Read The Flakking Chart".

[Photo by Etactics Inc on Unsplash]

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