(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 25.05.2024).- “Competence” and “proximity” are the characteristics that are essential to the role of the “family doctor,” said Pope Francis on Saturday, May 25, when receiving three hundred family doctors from different Continents.
The Bishop of Rome thanked them for calling the world’s attention to the role of the family doctor with the “Thank You, Doctor!” campaign (ThankYouDoctor.org), an initiative promoted by the non-profit Association “SOMOS Community Care” of New York, with the support of the National Federation of Orders of Surgeons and Dentists (NFOSD) and the Pontifical Academy for Life.
The Pope’s Childhood Memories
During the meeting, after greeting Doctor Ramón Tallaj, Founder of “SOMOS Community Care,” and Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Pope Francis opened his heart recounting the fondest memories of his childhood, in particular, “July 15, 1942,” when he was five years old, when “my Mother was expecting her fourth child, and my siblings and I – my brother had the flu, the Doctor came.”
“A very lovely memory! He gave us a medicine, it was a cold, the flu. Then he approached my Mom, who was here with Dad, and touched her abdomen saying: ‘Hey, it’s time! Let’s hope . . . ‘ And the fourth child was born that same afternoon. These memories of tenderness, of familiarity with the family doctor, are things I carry with me, because at that time, things were so, so lovely,” the Pope recalled excitedly.
The Doctor, “The One Who Provides Care”
The Holy Father reflected on the importance of two aspects of the family doctor’s mission. In the first place, the doctor is “the one who provides care”; beyond scientific strides, medicine is always and first of all a meeting of persons, it’s care, closeness and listening, and “this is the family doctor’s mission,” explained the Pontiff.
He underscored that the sick person not only looks to the doctor for his professional competence, but sees in him a friendly presence that instils confidence in healing and that, if the latter isn’t possible, continues looking at us in the eyes until the end, without leaving us alone. To illustrate this role of the doctor, he continued opening his heart: ”I remember as a child the family doctor who came [to our] home, he cured us; I also remember the family’s midwife, because we were five, so when that woman came with her bag, we knew a little brother was coming! At that time, the family doctor was familiar to me and I have very good memories of the family doctor.”
The Doctor, a “Familiar” Person
According to the Pope, the second reason the family doctor’s role is valuable is that he “he is a ‘family’ person. In fact, the presence of the family doctor helps to surround the patient one with a network of affection, of sharing and of solidarity, which goes beyond the diagnostic-therapeutic phase, reinforcing human relations, making of suffering a moment of communion that must be lived together, not only for the good of the patient, but for that of all: of those he takes care of, of family members, of the broader community.”
“Thus we avoid the risk that the person suffering and those close to him or her will be caught within a bureaucratic and overly technical system; or worse, from becoming victims of a market mentality that has little to do with health, especially when it comes to the elderly and frail,” concluded the Holy Father.
“Thank you, Doctor!”
The “Thank You, Doctor!” campaign has already collected more than a million endorsements of people from different parts of the world, and has got the support of institutions, such as the National Federation of Orders of Surgeons and Dentists, the European Union of General and Family Doctors (EUGFD), the Federation of Catholic Doctors of the World, the World Health Council and the Journal of Research and Applied Medicine.
The institutions signed the Declaration for the rediscovery of the family doctor, in which they appeal to all social and political agents to join their efforts and place the doctor-patient relationship again at the center of our health systems.
* * *
The Holy Father’s full address, translated from the Italian original into English by the Holy See:
I am pleased to meet with you. I greet Doctor Ramon Tallaj, founder of SOMOS Community Care, and Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Together, in these days, you have focused on the importance of re-evaluating the role and presence of the family doctor in healthcare and the social sphere. This is very good, because the family doctor is a fundamental figure, who combines competence and proximity. I would like to highlight briefly two aspects of this mission, taken precisely from the understanding of a family doctor: that of being a doctor and that of being “of the family.”
First, the doctor, that is, the one who provides care. Science today has made significant strides, allowing us to access therapies that were unimaginable just a few decades ago. Yet medicine, even the most technologically advanced, is always first and foremost a human encounter, characterized by caring treatment, closeness and listening. When we are sick, we look to the doctor, to be not only a competent professional, but also to be a friendly presence we can count on, who instils confidence in healing and who, even when this is not possible, does not leave us alone, but continues to look us in the eye and assist us, until the end. Saint Luke, whom Saint Paul calls “the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14), a colleague of yours, describes Jesus’ actions toward the sick in this way (cf. Luke 5:12-26; 8:40-56): he approached them, entered their homes, talked with them, listened to them, welcomed them in their suffering and healed them. The family doctor is similarly present and close, offering warmth as well as professional care, because he knows his patients and their loved ones personally and walks with them, day by day, even at the cost of personal sacrifice.
I remember as a child the family doctor who came [to our] home, he cured us; I also remember the family’s midwife, because we were five, so when that woman came with her bag, we knew a little brother was coming! At that time, the family doctor was familiar to me and I have very good memories of the family doctor.
This leads us to the second reason why the family doctor’s role is valuable: being a member of the family. This community dimension of care, which requires “contextualizing each patient in his or her relationships” and in his or her “affective and social ties” [Interview with Monsignor Renzo Pecoraro on “The Pope’s Window” November 15, 2023].
The presence of the family doctor, in fact, helps to create a network of affection, sharing and solidarity around the sick person, going beyond the diagnostic and therapeutic phases. This strengthens human relationships and transforms suffering into a moment of communion to be experienced together, benefiting not only the patient, but also the caregiver, family members and the extended community. This approach helps to avoid the risk that the person suffering and those close to him or her will be caught within a bureaucratic and overly technical system; or worse, from becoming victims of a market mentality that has little to do with health, especially when it comes to the elderly and frail.
Care and familiarity are two gifts of great value to those who suffer!
Therefore, dear friends, the work you are doing is important. I renew my blessing on your project and pray for you. I ask you, please, do not forget to pray for me. Thank you!
Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.
