摘要：I will not pretend to grapple here with the full range of balance and self-identity issues posed to me by Virtual Mentor for this essay. Those questions concerned the growing gap between what society has always expected of the medical profession—that doctors be available whenever needed and give priority to the interests of the patients in front of them at all times—and the expectations of medical students and new doctors—to have rich and balanced lives outside of the profession and to balance the health needs of the public with those of the patient in front of them. Can—or how can—these two sets of expectations be met? I believe these questions are as foundational to the overall health care debate as issues of cost, quality and health disparities.
