Seven Deadly Sins - Envy

At times this article seemed jam packed with examples of each sin and I had a difficult time finding ways to relate the idea of professionalism into each of those seven sins. However, the author usually pulled together the main idea by the end of each section and I was able to relate each sin, good or bad, to a recommendation on how I should want to be as a physician. The one that caught my attention the most was the sin of Envy.

The section had numerous stories about times that the author thought that he wanted what somebody else had only to find out later, that the person he envied didn't really have life better off than him. In the end, the conclusion was that life would be better off if we would just stop comparing ourselves to others. The last comparison was a positive experience of a patient who never complained about his situation even though he was dying and the life he was living was not much of one. They author looked at the man and seemed to wonder why the patient did not envy those who were in better situations. It got me to thinking how many times as a future physician I will see people that are not as well off as me, whether it be emotionally, physically, or financially. I think that the opposite of envy could be pity......feeling sorry for somebody based on their situation. It's almost as if by pitying somebody you are trying to acknowledge that they are jealous of you. I know that I am going to encounter patients who will inspire me with their attitudes in the face of adversity and I hope that I can learn to be more like them rather than picturing them being jealous of me or somebody else. Based on the definition that Dr. Ring gave in the previous article about professionalism meaning to put the patient first, we can be professional by avoiding pity. I want to remember to put myself in other people's shoes to empathize with them and therefore hopefully be able to treat them with more compassion. I don't want to walk around thinking that people want to walk in my shoes, as if I have something to envy. I want to live a life, and a practice without comparisons. If we take the advice of the author and not make comparisons that put one person's life on a pedestal and the other in a pit, we will be able to be better overall physicians.