Choosing a doctor

Your child is sick. You rush him to the hospital.

In walk two doctors. Dr. X is a serious looking white haired man long on “straight talk” and short on bedside schmooze. The other, Dr. Y, is a young guy. The nurses and orderlies swoon over Dr. Y who glad hands everyone in the room before coming over to talk to you.

You can pick which of the two doctors will treat your son. So you ask about experience. The Dr. X says he’s been practicing medicine for 50 years and seen 1,000s of patients. The Dr. Y says he forewent the big bucks of being a doctor to serve as a community organizer.

You ask Dr. Y, how long he’s been a doctor. It turns out Y has been a Dr. only three years. Most of that time he’s spent running for chief surgeon of the hospital. How many patients have you seen, you ask Y. Nearly one, comes the reply. But he assures you that he’s consulted on several cases.

Dr. X tells you that Dr. Y once advocated letting a sick patient die. “Is the patient dead?” Dr. X says, “No we started a new therapy and the patient, while still in danger, is recovering.” Dr. Y interrupts, “the patient is dead and has been dead for a long time. The therapy failed.” Dr. X says, “That’s just not true the patient is just down the hall. Wait, that’s him right there. He’s the one on roller skates.”

You ask how each would treat your son. Dr. X says, “We’ll follow a very strict protocol of tests and medicine until we determine the best treatment.” Dr. Y says, “We’ll hope for a change in his condition.”

Which Dr. would you pick?