Although the ultimate purpose of treating patients is to cure their diseases, what feeble patients and their helpless families expect during complicated treatment procedures is humane care and thoughtfulness. In any profession one must deal with people and events, but a medical doctor must face life and death. The duty of a doctor is to save people. When people have health problems and seek help from a doctor, they put their lives in the doctor's hands.

Patients First

"From the day when a doctor puts on his white jacket, he must place the well-being of the patients above his own. In other words, the patients are always the doctor's major concern." Dr. Lin Chun-lung, deputy director of Tzu Chi General Hospital, who has been practicing medicine for nearly thirty years, thus describes the sacred mission of medical doctors. "Patients put their lives and hope in a doctor's hands. Therefore, the doctor must be very careful at every step of diagnosis and care, because, good or bad, the consequences will be born by his patients." Other professionals do not receive the reverence which doctors do. Because of this, after doctors have treated patients, they must ask themselves, "Have I done the best I can? Is there anything vital that I have not done?" If doctors always take their patients' needs into consideration, they will not fail to live up to the responsibilities of their job.

Every morning at about six o'clock, Dr. Lin begins his rounds of the emergency room, the intensive care unit and the wards, amicably asking patients how they are getting on. He frequently tells the doctor on duty in the emergency room, "If there is anything urgent, please give me a ring, no matter what time it is."

Dr. Lin's work ethic has not only boosted the morale of his colleagues in the hospital, but has also provided reassurance to patients and their families. "This white coat always reminds me that my job is related to life and death and that I must never be careless. Once irreparable damage is done, there is no chance to start over again."

The Common Understanding
Between Doctors and Patients

In many people's eyes, a doctor enjoys a certain social status and prestige. Because of this, some doctors become egotistic or even arrogant. They think that patients must come to the doctor, not the other way around.

"Everything one does must be based on the needs of the patients," observed Dr. Lin, who practiced medicine for twenty-five years in the United States. "That should be the attitude and the position of a doctor. If he thinks that medical treatment is a means of exercising authority over people and so puts on airs, he has forgotten the fact that what he faces is not a disease but a living person."

Dr. Lin thinks that there should be a common understanding between a doctor and a patient. On the one hand, no doctor will ever mistreat his patient. The purpose of medicine is to save people, to help patients recover from their illnesses. On the other hand, no patients or their families should be willing to argue with their doctors.

"In addition to serving patients with their special knowledge, doctors should try their best to communicate with them and let them know their condition and the possible kinds of treatment they may face. Only in this way will patients cooperate." Dr. Lin commented that good communication with patients will not only expel their doubts but also make them feel more comfortable.

Dr. Lin believes that in many cases, a doctor can only make suggestions. It is up to the patient to carry them out. Because of this, Dr. Lin always discusses the details of the procedures with his patients during every phase of treatment, and he lets them know their situation and what kind of treatment they are going to receive so that they can have confidence in him and cooperate fully.

The Love of a Doctor

Two years ago, Dr. Lin ended his career in the United States as the director of a medical center in Los Angeles and came back to Taiwan. Being a Buddhist, he had always hoped that some day he could come back to Taiwan to serve his own compatriots and make some contribution to the medical field in Taiwan.