I really don't see why 'helping people' should not be the primary motivator... I can't think of any other thing that is more fulfilling than that.
Because most of the time you'll be doing a whole lot less helping people than you'd imagine. There'll be days where you help no one. There'll be days where you hurt people on accident. The real, honest to god, "I really helped that person" moments aren't exactly brimming from most specialties (aside from perhaps surgery).
Yes, and b/c the sad reality is that quite a number of people won't do what they should to help themselves or their children/families. People have to partner in the helping process. When they expect those in medicine and HC to wave a magic wand and make everything better, w/o being motivated themselves to do their part, it is beyond frustrating. I mean you still do what you can, but have to let go of the fantasy that all people are going to be on-board with doing what is within their locus of control or being compliant. And don't think for a minute non-compliance just rests with the lower SE classes of people on drugs.
Personally I think people go into HC and medicine, and they really don't realize how many people are further along on that spectrum between mentally/emotionally healthy and mentally/emotionally ill, which of course affects greatly other areas of health and wellness--either for them or for say a child within their care. And if you are not honest and relatively secure about where you and even your fellow HC colleagues and staff are, and given how politico-social systems are kind of far along on that spectrum, well, often enough, it becomes about the blind leading the blind.
Surgery is an area that I have frequently heard physicians working in it say that they genuinely feel like they have "fixed" something--or at least made it reasonably better. And the results of that work are often more tangible. Even then, they get their share of seriously noncompliant people. But at least they can feel often enough that they have done their part to help or "fix" something and can move on to the next person in need of tangible fixing.
And the process through which they learn to do this to me at least, by far, seems the most utterly grueling. But they go through it b/c they love it and have "done something" more tangible to help a person. At least they do what they can in that regard. When they cannot, they refer them to physicians for other, shall we saw, more nebulous approaches.
Surgery is hands down awesome; but I personally feel like, at least most of the time, one must be pretty young to start in it and make it through. I am sure there are some exceptions. It's just that I have stood on the sidelines as a CC recovery nurse for quite some time. I'd want to be no more than in my 20s to start down that arduous path. I have the utmost respect for it, but I am also realistic enough to know it's not for me at this point in my life.
So, lol, I have to accept the more nebulous realm of treating and helping people through medicine. But I certainly do not expect to be able to help everyone, and in fact, while I may try to help many, the extent of that help, according to the free will and autonomy of those people whom I attempt to help, has been and will probably continue to be limited.
You focus on doing your part--what you can. You try to influence them to do their part. You feel great about the ones that have worked together with you to get well or their children well or at least somehow better, and then you have to be satisfied that you have done your level best.
People get sick. People suffer. People die. You do what you can to the best of your ability. You will never be God. And even if you can "fix" something with them, does it actually "fix" the underlying patho? Sometimes yes. Quite a number of times, no. And the whole time you are dealing with random, endless number of people that are more in the yellow to orange to red range (see below) than the green--at least psychologically or emotionally.
