Always Open, Never Open
Sunday, April 26, 2009
It seems that small towns have a 'never open, always open' way of life. That is, to someone travelling through, if the local shop is open 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday and that's it. Same with all the other services. But to a local, things never really close. If you're friendly with the shop owner, they might open up for you. It's the benefits, I guess, of being small; you know all your customers and you want to help them out.
For the town doctor, it's a bit different. The surgery is closed on the weekends, but the doctor is always on call. And, of course, the hospital is always open.
You might think that with an official town population of fewer than 500, things would be pretty quiet. But no. The local doctor is extremely busy, and the idea that they're constantly 'on-call' can be exhausting.
As far as community life rolls, the challenge is to be involved 'just enough'. From one point of view, that's being able to have a drink at the local pub without gaining a reputation for such. From another point of view, it's being able to head down to the shop and have everyone say 'G'day', but no-one ask about their test results or medical problems.
Last week, someone in town made a point of mentioning that they'd seen the doctor walking around in shorts and a T-shirt on the weekend, and that it was inappropriate dress. The doc, quite rightly, laughed, and mentioned that he tends to wear that kind of clothing to put across the message; I'm not at work, so don't ask.
Ironically, it's also par for the course to wear stethoscopes to the shops on lunchbreak to give the opposite message; I'm working, so I need to get back to it.
The crux of all this is that when there's one doctor in town, the most important thing they can do is to educate the community to know firstly, when working hours are and how to make appointments and keep them secondly, that it is always okay to contact the doctor in an emergency.
That way, the town doctor not only has some life not chained to the hospital or medical centre and can participate in community life to the full.
For the town doctor, it's a bit different. The surgery is closed on the weekends, but the doctor is always on call. And, of course, the hospital is always open.
You might think that with an official town population of fewer than 500, things would be pretty quiet. But no. The local doctor is extremely busy, and the idea that they're constantly 'on-call' can be exhausting.
As far as community life rolls, the challenge is to be involved 'just enough'. From one point of view, that's being able to have a drink at the local pub without gaining a reputation for such. From another point of view, it's being able to head down to the shop and have everyone say 'G'day', but no-one ask about their test results or medical problems.
Last week, someone in town made a point of mentioning that they'd seen the doctor walking around in shorts and a T-shirt on the weekend, and that it was inappropriate dress. The doc, quite rightly, laughed, and mentioned that he tends to wear that kind of clothing to put across the message; I'm not at work, so don't ask.
Ironically, it's also par for the course to wear stethoscopes to the shops on lunchbreak to give the opposite message; I'm working, so I need to get back to it.
The crux of all this is that when there's one doctor in town, the most important thing they can do is to educate the community to know firstly, when working hours are and how to make appointments and keep them secondly, that it is always okay to contact the doctor in an emergency.
That way, the town doctor not only has some life not chained to the hospital or medical centre and can participate in community life to the full.
