Jim Daly: Coronavirus on National Doctors' Day – more than ever they deserve our support and thanks

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The doctor is in – and working harder than ever before.

It’s a scene currently playing out in hospitals and makeshift medical facilities all across the country:

Confronted with the escalating coronavirus pandemic, dedicated and heroic physicians, clad in protective gear and probably operating on few hours of sleep, are serving bravely on the front lines of the nation’s fight against an invisible but virulent enemy.

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In popular culture, doctors are often depicted as hotshots with bad penmanship – overly confident and overpaid professionals who cavalierly dip in and out of patients’ rooms, short on patience and longing to make a tee time at the local country club.

It’s a bum rap, of course, and a fictitious stereotype that the current COVID-19 outbreak is hopefully dispelling and dismissing, once and for all.

Today’s doctors are stretched thin, working incredibly long hours and forced to expend far too much energy battling insurance companies and making sure their paperwork doesn’t get in the way of time with their patients.

Almost 2,000 years ago, the Roman philosopher Seneca observed that “People pay the doctor for his trouble; for his kindness they still remain in his debt.”

That remains true two millennia later.

My life is made richer by the many doctors whose paths I’m privileged to cross.

Dr. David Zbylski is our family physician. A former U.S. Army doc, he’s kind, patient, empathetic and a great listener. He’s a cross between Marcus Welby and Phillip Chandler from “St. Elsewhere.”

As we find our way through the thicket of this unprecedented modern-day medical crisis, let’s remember to pray for our nation’s doctors. Why not drop your physician a note today and let him or her know how much you appreciate them? 

Dr. William Strickling is my dermatologist, and he’s also become my friend. We talk about the pressures of modern medicine, the reporting, the costs, the time devoted to compliance vs. patient care. We also talk about a doctor’s love for medicine, why they chose to pursue such a demanding career when they could be doing so many other things.

For every doctor I know, it’s always about the people. It’s never about the money.

Admittedly, I wasn’t always so favorably disposed toward doctors. When I was 5, I went to the local fire station in Southern California for my booster shot. There I stood waiting for my turn in a long line of kids next to the fire trucks.  I panicked when it was my turn. I jerked away from the doctor and took off running. I was caught at the big door of the station and escorted back to the front of the line. The doctor, who seemed 9 feet tall, smiled. Believe it or not, the shot didn’t really hurt too much.

Maybe I hold doctors in such high esteem because, in many ways, I feel like I’m forever indebted to their profession and one of them, in particular, for helping my wife, Jean, deliver our two sons – the greatest gifts I’ve ever been given besides my wife herself.

Dr. Gordon Silver’s demeanor during both deliveries was calming and his spirit was kind, comforting and encouraging. We were all very nervous but excited on those special days – but his professionalism inspired confidence.

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I’m very thankful to work with a team of doctors who serve on what we call our Physicians Resource Council at Focus on the Family. They’re an all-volunteer force, and they regularly lend their expertise and wisdom in guiding our ministry through the many ethical and medical issues and challenges we face these days.

In his book, “The Body,” bestselling author Bill Bryson writes, “There are thousands of things that can kill us – slightly more than 8,000, according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems compiled by the World Health Organization – and we escape every one of them but one. For most of us, that’s not a bad deal.”

That reminds me, doctors are many things – competent, creative, wise and innovative – but they’re not miracle workers. Sometimes they run out of options – or time – or both. Doctors do their best, but God will eventually and inevitably have other plans.

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As we find our way through the thicket of this unprecedented modern-day medical crisis, let’s remember to pray for our nation’s doctors. Why not drop your physician a note today and let him or her know how much you appreciate them?

Most, if not all, of our nation’s doctors have the same fears and concerns that everyone else has. They’re mere mortals, yet they serve their patients selflessly because they feel called to their medical mission.

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