The society will try to dehumanize you in various ways. And you will feel pressurized to play along too. Don't let them do that to you, as much as possible.
---
Every patient comes to you with the expectation of a complete cure. They do not care that you are human. Reset their expectations. Let them know that there are limits to what you can do. Stay human.
Once, I was second call in VMH when a patient was brought dead to the hospital. The doctor on duty wanted to send them home in the same ambulance they came in so that they don't have to be bothered about arranging transport. But the relatives were getting angry that the doctor is not trying to save the life of the patient. I was called in. The patient was "obviously" dead. But it wasn't that obvious to the people who loved the patient. They were expecting an omnipotent doctor to be able to bring the patient back from dead.
People will always come to you with unreasonable expectations - whether they express it or not. Preemptively address those and reset those expectations. Don't let them dehumanize you.
---
One patient sees one doctor a day. One doctor sees many more patients a day. Patients do not know this or do not care about this. Each patient thinks that it is reasonable to expect that the doctor prioritizes their care above everyone else's. Omnipresence is not human.
When dealing with multiple patients and feeling overwhelmed, let each of your patient know about your situation and limitation. Before they get a chance to complain that you're not giving them the care they deserve, let them know that you are thinned out and helpless.
There is a limit to how many patients you can care for. The society wants you to treat this limit as adjustable with a bit of overwork. Don't let them dehumanize you.
---
You might have been taught that it is unprofessional to express emotions in your duty. But it is very human to have emotions.
There's a trick I use with anger. I don't lash out on people with anger. But I tell patients that I'm angry or that something they've done or are doing is making me angry. There's no easier way to communicate!
I have also used "I am feeling anxious about ...", "I am scared that ...", "It makes me sad too that ...".
Put a label to your feeling and put it across to your patient. Let them know. Let them know that you're human. Don't let them think that you are not.
---
You can't know everything. You can't remember everything. Open textbooks in front of your patient. Show them the search terms and the apps you use.
Tell them that you will have to look the answer for that up. Ask them for links to the articles they read to reach at their own internet-guided-diagnosis. I've more than once been linked to cutting edge research that I wasn't even aware of.
Don't let the unreasonable expectation of a charismatic omniscient doctor dehumanize you.
---
You need to eat. You need money. Whether your patients are rich or poor doesn't change those facts. But that's not what the patients think. They think of healthcare as a profitable business. They think of healthcare as a necessary service. They expect you to sacrifice profit. They expect you to sacrifice compensation, even.
Show them the reality. Show them how you're saving them money by giving them the right treatment. Show them the expenses you incur in doing so. Tell them how the one hour you just spent with them is already heavily subsidized. (If you don't realize this, just answer this question after a minute of thinking. "How much, would you say, is an hour of your time worth?" And when you answer it, make sure you account for the opportunity cost you incur by not doing other things that you're capable of doing.) Give them a lesson in economics.
Let them know that it's not omnibenevolence, but it is self-love that is human.
---
Don't look at the patient-doctor relationship as a purely biomedical one. It is a deeply political one. And a deeply human one. It need not be one way. It should not be one way. Anything that comes in the way of making it complicated needs to be given considerable time and addressed.
