What does a medical doctor do

I often come across the question "what does a medical doctor do"? This is most often presented to me by myself to myself or by other people towards the medical profession. I find this question interesting because I think the answer differs from doctor to doctor. I'm not talking about the professional differences between the different fields of medicine I'm talking about the philosophical angle that SHOULD be equal to all doctors.

We all know the phrase "do no harm" and Im sure that this part of the keeping our patients safe is practiced by all, no one with a healthy mind would want to inflict harm to a patient. The problem with defining what exactly does a doctor do starts right after med school and changes as time goes by. I see the burning enthusiasm in fresh "green" doctors that are willing to see the patients as a whole and treat the person rather then the charts. And then I get to know a different kind of doctor, one that is "institutionalized", a doctor that is so overwhelmed with the scope of work and the amount of patients that he forgets his REAL mission. A doctor that sees a chart and numbers rather then a person. I also recognize a third kind of doctor, one that finds a way out of the institution and back into seeing a patient as he really is.

When the time comes and I REALLY need medical attention, I would want to find a person next to me that sees me and not a robot that works on autopilot. I am sure he does not want to work this way but because of society and the hospital protocols push him to it. These protocols save lives everyday, no doubt, but isn't there any other way?

I don't want to seem too criticizing but I do want to shed a bit of light onto the "sacred profession". I write these opinions at the beginning of my journey in the world of medicine to try to help me remember the true path that should be taken by my colleagues and I. I also write this to help me understand and except the doctors that, in my point of view, had caved into the needs of society. I know that I WILL be one of them I can just hope that I can find my way out.

I hope that after getting the skills I greatly need in order to understand medicine to the fullest I can successfully navigate to find a way to look beyond the charts and numbers in order to see the human standing in front of me.