Aimee Lorraine C.

Capinpuyan Health Sci 191 Reflections on The Motorcycle Diaries and Other Lessons

12/14/2011

The Motorcycle Diaries is beautiful. I never would have expected a film about the leader of a revolution, Che Guevarra, to be so tender romantic, even. The film showed us a young and pensive Ernesto Guevarra as he made his way across South America with his friend Alberto Granado. Ernesto and Alberto both refer to themselves as doctors. One thing I learned watching this film is that although everybody merits respect, doctors get it instantly. For instance, when this one old man found out that Ernesto and Alberto were doctors, he did not hesitate to show them a lump on his body. Baring oneself like that is not something most people do with complete strangers. However, being a doctor, you instantly gain a certain amount of trust from the people you meet. Its like being told, I dont really know who you are, but I trust you to take a look at this part of my body and tell me if there is something wrong with it. I think its only doctors or people who work in the medical sector that get that. So the first thing I learned is that when you are a doctor, people automatically put an amount of trust in you. However, it is not enough to be trusted. You must take care not to abuse this trust, and this is the second thing I learned. Alberto wanted to exploit the man with the lump by telling him that they would examine him only if they were given food and beds. Ernesto dismissed his companion and, after examining the lump, told the man to seek professional help at a nearest health center. Here is the third thing I learned: when something is beyond your control, say for instance the treatment of a tumor, dont pretend that it isnt. Know your limits. As a doctor I will have to accept that I cannot cure absolutely everyone. I have to seek help myself by referring patients to other doctors who might better be able to help them. In relation to that, the value of teamwork is evident in health care. It is not about one doctor striving to get ahead of all the other doctors. Neither does health care focus on just one field of medicine. Health care is holistic and all-encompassing; it requires the efforts of everybody, be it the doctors, the nurses, the barangay health workers, and especially the patients and the communities. However, teamwork is not the only value that is important in health care. In the scene in Motorcycle Diaries where Ernesto and Alberto arrive at a leper colony, the duo exhibits another important value when they shake the hand of one leper: bravery. The nuns in the colony had prohibited physical contact with the lepers, but Ernesto and Alberto did so anyway. Aside from knowing that leprosy could not spread in that manner, they both wanted to show the man that they were genuinely interested in meeting him. They were brave for having stood up for what they believed in despite what other people told them. I think this is very important in medicine,

especially since you might be making a diagnosis that is different from what other doctors say. Or you might prescribe a treatment that is nonconventional. I dont know whether it is advisable to always be taking risks in medicine, but, like Doc Sio said, Always see a patient with fresh eyes. I have resolved to do just that. My first resolution is that when I meet a new person, I will try my hardest not to judge him or her based on appearance. This is a good practice for when I become a doctor. I should not jump into conclusions about what a patients problem is the moment he or she steps into my clinic. My second resolution is to ask for help when I need it. I was raised to be an independent girl, but, like I said earlier, medicine is not about the efforts of one person. Its a matter of teamwork. My final resolution is to fall in love with service. As a student and as a future doctor, I am going to have to make a ton of sacrifices. Ill be giving up a lot of my time, energy, and perhaps money should I choose to pursue my goal of becoming a doctor and helping other people. However, like Mahatma Ghandi said, The best way to lose yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.