Medicine: a performing art

I think of medicine as a performing art, although to many people the word “performing” sounds suspect, almost insulting. It smacks of inauthenticity, of putting on a mask and presenting something that is not the “real you.” This is a fundamental misunderstanding. Whenever we engage with other people, we select from multiple authentic selves. Whether it is dinner with parents, an evening out with friends, a job interview, or a clinical consultation, we are constantly making choices about how we present ourselves and gauging how those choices are perceived. Within medicine, instead of asking “when are we performing?” clinicians might ask “when are we not performing?”Theatre, music, dance, and public speaking—as with medicine—are rooted in a protracted grind of rehearsal, memorisation, and preparation. You spend endless hours in practice rooms and rehearsal spaces. You pluck up the courage to go out and do something in front of other people, putting…
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