The top of Maslow’s scale of development is self-actualization. That is what I hope to develop for my patients. Too lofty a goal? Perhaps, but they say to aim for the starts.
I do so by aiming for self-actualization myself. A major step in my professional life was to drop out of our toxic, profit-driven health care system and do what I do best: spend time with patients to discuss the simple concepts underlying health and disease, something that is not done in mainstream medicine. It is too busy with the business part of it, largely designed to increase profits with bells and whistles that have nothing to do with self-actualization. Patients are fooled by the 80% of waste created by such grand standing. It distracts patients and doctors from behavioral changes that have the greatest impact on our health. To inculcate such changes requires time, not computers and excessive testing, both of which diminish the one-on-one time a patient need with a health practitioner to learn about health and be motivated to implement the necessary lifestyles to reverse disease, not only at the cellular level, but in human relationships.
As expected, my results are mixed, but I am not dissuaded. Carries’ poinsettia last week encouraged me to keep trying. Four years ago, she came in with an “incurable” disease, according to her doctors. Slowly, she learned those simple health principles; she is not only cured, but she has become an expert in t her own health. She avidly studies the latest research in nutrition and discovers better and more practical ways to live a healthy style. Carrie is self-actualized.
Unfortunately, Mark is not. He was put off by my one-man practice; it did not match his conception of a clinic, that is, a mainstream clinic with all the accoutrements and staffed with dozens of people, a necessity in a business-driven setting designed to minimize time spent with patients. Mark made it clear his time was limited after I told him mine was not. It was all downhill from there.
Do I aim to put myself out of business? Yes and No.
Yes. Carrie will stop coming one of these days.
No, there are many Marks who need more time to reach self-actualization.
