WORDS Fatima Measham
As a young doctor Janelle Brennan experienced a confronting period where several young patients died from incurable illnesses.
'They were clearly not ready', she says. 'They were crying out, "why is this happening?" I'd always thought that in the so-called hour of need, there would be some sort of tangible evidence that God was there, and usually there is. But in those two cases, they were certainly not left to rest in peace. It was quite a traumatic end.'
In moments such as these Janelle finds herself asking difficult questions. 'I may not find the answer, or a satisfactory answer', she says. 'But the important thing is I can try to work through it and discern where God is in this, for me.' Janelle finds it significant that healing is part of the Gospel stories, and describes encounters with sickness and death as 'being at the coalface of the mysteries in life.'
Alfredo Mori, whose own coalface is located in the emergency department, finds that being a doctor can be confronting. 'Every day there is an incident that makes you stop short', he says. 'Like a case of drug overdose. It's quite tragic, dealing with beautiful young people who are in near-death situations, or unable to take care of themselves, or abusive, who are ruining their families because of their dependence on drugs.'
Despite the challenges he encounters, Alfredo is honoured to work in his chosen profession. 'It is an enormous privilege, probably second only to the priesthood, in how far you are let into someone's life and family.' Janelle is motivated by the feeling that she is making a difference to people's lives. She places her reflections on work in the context of her spirituality; that is, from the perspective of community and discernment.
'I don't think I could sleep very easily if I didn't feel I was making some sort of difference, that I was giving something back. For me, achievements are not just about how much money you earn. I'm the first person to admit that material things are nice, but at the end of the day, you've got to have pride in what you do.'
She points out that the first hospitals were created for the poor and run by religious orders. 'The early hospices were not for profit. They were interested in looking after people. I find it strange that today there are companies making money out of sick people. That's just not what it's about.'
Janelle believes that the human side of health care needs more consideration. Although she concedes that some things need to be measured in order to facilitate funding and administration, Janelle describes medical practice as a human interaction, one that can be lost in the flurry of numbers-of beds, waiting times, and targets.
'It's heartbreaking to tell someone with a family, and who is in pain, that they are number 22 in the queue', she says. 'Part of the patients' experience is in how they feel, how well they're looked after, that sense of care and concern in their relationship with the health professionals. How can you measure that?'
Alfredo shares a similar perspective on the balance between accountability and compassion. 'There's only a finite amount of resources,' he says, 'and if we don't measure and control it, it's at risk of being wasted and divided unequally. But there are still beautiful, miraculous, magical moments. There is a point where we can't measure what we do.'
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