Key West The Newspaper

by John Donnelly…….

High browed Psychiatrists and Psychologists, along with many credentialed mental health professionals; frequently lack an ability to relate, understand and identify with their disturbed patients. Outside a clinical or classroom setting, their deficiencies are highlighted by an experiential absence and ineptitude, which diminishes their capacity to grasp the underlying realities of mental illness. An understanding that can best be awakened via wounds endured on the firing line of life. Friction generated by the rubber meeting the road, creates the requisite heat for consciousness expansion and awakening.

Considering the diminution of my blemishes, it’s difficult for me to cognize the subject matter before me. However, I’ve knocked around a bit and fallen at times.

Cascading darkness from the abyss, cannot be known from afar. It can be looked at, spoken about, analyzed; but never realized. The blind treating the blind scenarios have created a lot of salaried positions and busy work, which are geared to shield and conceal societies’ tormented souls from public view. These scourges of humanity are framed within a network of catchword phrases, psychobabble and gobbledygook; so as to ease one’s guilt and shame, while dulling their sense of right and wrong.

And we must not forget, Medication. Lots and lots of Medication. Doses doubled and tripled, with additional chemicals added on, so Doctors might get the result they seek. What might that result be?

With or without the patient’s consent, a steady flow of prescription medicines are pumped into a patient’s blood stream. Does consent matter, if said patient is deemed unstable or a menace?

The Pharmaceutical Industry appears to have maintained a profitable love affair with disease and suffering. Cures and recovery pose a threat, for they will disrupt the easily accrued pecuniary gains that have been acquired, via not finding a Remedy or Answer to the ills plaguing Humanity.

Disturbed patients, being treated by disturbed professionals, within a disturbing paradigm; which infrequently generates a positive result. A quote from the “Wall Street Journal” follows: “Medical mistakes kill enough people each week to fill four jumbo jets. But these mistakes go largely unnoticed by the world at large, and the medical community rarely learns from them…”

Subjective misdiagnoses, errant treatments and uninformed opinions flood the market; formulating the basis upon which many patients suffering with mental illness are negligently attended to. Strategies are constructed that often lack an accurate base line and intermediary goals, which can determine the efficacy of care and patient progress. Perhaps, the murkiness of a poorly defined medical objective shields hospitals and health care workers from a standardized measure of accountability.

“Integrity and Ethics” appear to be absent from the decision making process of many Hospital Administrators throughout the United States. Didn’t they teach a class in Ethics at the colleges and/or universities attended by these Heads of Medicine? Junk education, a society in decline and some shady political practices have reinforced the “Peter Principle”, as witnessed in Trump, Obama, Bush and Clinton. All of them rising: “To their level of incompetence”.

Misdirected priorities in medicine have spawned havoc and doom for many patients seeking release from pain and suffering. Death and old age are inescapable. These natural and normal occurrences have become an ugly, denigrating and frightening ordeal for far too many Americans.

Digressing a moment, back around 1988 the Veterans Administration came up with a truly magnificent approach in treating Veterans suffering from a multitude of aliments. It was termed “Veterans Helping Veterans”. Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Rehabilitation Specialists and Employment Facilitators employed by the Veterans Administration to work with Veterans, were required to be “Veterans Themselves”. Every “Vet Center” operating abroad and within the United States was entirely staffed and managed by Veterans.

This approach for treatment was designed to more effectively address and enhance the opportunities for returning combat veterans from Vietnam. It was extremely successful in assisting these Veterans, as they transitioned and assimilated back into civilian life. This novel and innovated medical technique, was instrumental in saving lives, as it rebuilt human beings and fostered compelling careers for the men and women that came under their care. It allowed many Veterans torn up from the War, to once again become integral members of their communities and re-enter society.

The moral of this story might be that camaraderie, esprit de corps and a cooperative sense of compassion and empathy; are integral ingredients essential for any effective medical plan of action; if a hospital and its staff are serious in their alleged intentions of providing competent care to the sick and injured.

Another subtitle might be that “Love is a Powerful Force”. When this energy is synthesized within the scientific delivery of medical services, all manner of difficulty, neglect and abuse can be overridden.

Second half of Article follows…

Remember those fancy colleges and universities with all their decorative degrees, the institutions that many of us attended; where “ethics training” classes were not required or unavailable; perhaps those institutions might be willing to hire me on as an adjunct professor, specializing in teaching the Power of Love. A “Love Doctor” per se.

My employment as “Doctor Love” would be conditioned upon an enhanced sense of amour-propre and an increased frequency of good deeds, as recorded by my students, resultant from their classroom activities and instruction. “Doctor Love’s” salary would be adjusted via his quarterly evaluations. “Measurement of Teacher Effectiveness” would be assessed via a video instrument, evaluated by a cross section of instructional staff and student body.

I do believe the evolving job description, as set forth in this narrative, is consistent and compatible with a Man of my Caliber. Possessing many special talents and gifts, I’m a shoo-in for “Teacher of the Year” recognition.

As reason and imagination compete for supremacy, I’ll continue. Screening potential students before selecting my class will be a big 10-4. Right chemistry, right people; right outcome. As any seasoned professional knows, many “hands on” instructional activities are necessary for a college/university to maintain their accreditation.

Next, we’ll develop creative strategies and techniques to drive home the “Love Doctor’s” subject matter. Key to the success of any student, when acquiring a new skill is repetition. Grading will be a Huge component of our class work. No participation trophies.

Criterion based packets of assessment data, along with a sampling of divergent forms of expression, will be incorporated into the classroom experience, so as to further course competency and accountability. A compilation of authentic and reliable data will document each student’s progress and skill mastery. Every student will be provided a clear and present opportunity to demonstrate proficiency in the prescribed “curriculum guide” outcomes, as set forth in the course outline.

I’m profoundly passionate, blessed and grateful for my new life’s calling. But in fact, how could it have been any other way. I’m the “Love Doctor”.

Since writing this article, I’ve been contacted by several exploratory committees eager to develop a curriculum, incorporating the ideas that have been set forth. Being at the helm of this Operation, I’ll need a secretary and (2) administrative assistants. If interested, perhaps you’d care to leave a perfunctory comment with contact information.

Blessings & Respect…

Locked & Loaded; Doctor Love…Out.