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GENERATIONAL
PERSPECTIVES
GROWING UP IN THE
MEDICINE LIFESTYLE
By Prashanth Rao, MD
Medicine was a profession my parents chose to make a better As a private practice ObGyn, now semi-retired, I remember my
life for themselves and their family. Both my parents are from dad was always on call. He constantly had his pager on him, and
large, middle-class families in South India, that were rich in cul- was an early adopter of those large, heavy brick-like 'mobile'
ture, not so much in coin. phones of the 1980s, lugging it about when it was still a novelty.
He would show up late to dinner parties and would have to leave
After completing their medical residencies in the U.S., my par- movie theaters halfway through the movie, to attend to calls.
ents moved us to Texas to start their professional careers. In the
1980s, medicine was more of a lifestyle than just a job. Relatively Despite their exhausting schedules, I never heard my parents
high reimbursements and minimal insurance regulation at the complain about their work demands. They were always regaling
time allowed physicians the independence to craft their own pri- us with tales of interesting medical drama and the life lessons they
vate practices as they wanted, and proved to be a sort of a 'golden encountered with their colleagues and patients. The challenging
era' for hard working physicians. Doctors enjoyed commanding diagnosis of a critical postop complication, or a surgeon’s quick
roles in their hospitals and society, and their practices were a con- thinking to avert disaster — our family meal discussions were
stant part of their lives. My mother was an anesthesiologist that often like morning report in residency. During these exchanges,
worked full time and still managed to shuttle my two sisters and my sisters and I would sometimes get an impression of my par-
I to piano, tennis, and dance lessons after school, and somehow ents’ anticipation of the day when we would be more actively con-
have the energy to attend or host dinner parties almost every tributing, knowledgeable participants in these medical
weekend. In retrospect, she had to wear too many hats which I'm discussions.
sure was quite stressful. She is now fully retired from medical
practice, and much more relaxed as a grandma and social butter- As a result of my dad's "medicine lifestyle," I did not get to
fly/travel planner for herself and my dad. spend too much social or free time with him growing up, but did
get to experience life in the hospital and clinic setting from an
24 San Antonio Medicine • June 2017
