Welcome to the museum of physician happiness

Welcome to the Museum of Physician Happiness. I'm your guide, Dr Arlen Meyers.

Before we get started, please take notice of the emergency exits and silence your cell phones. You, over there. I said please get off your cell phone!

In addition, we ask that you keep your face mask on at all times and maintain social distancing guidelines.

This museum was recently built to commemorate the golden age of medicine-1950-80- when doctors were joyful and happy before the present age of medical corporatization, burnout and enterprise consolidation. We have provided you with the audio-tour so just push the button that corresponds to the number by the exhibit.

They are:

1. Professional courtesy and how it worked
2. A model of a doctors lounge
3. A parking space that says "staff only" with a model Porsche in the space
4. The cafeteria will be serving the food doctors ate, sometimes for free
5. A ticket for nine-holes at the public course across the street, good only on Wednesday mornings
6. The room where doctors used to meet at their local medical society
7. A handwritten thank you note from a specialist to an internist who referred a patient
8. A case of wine that a patient gave a doctor
9. A copy of a medical school tuition bill for $2000/yr
10. All white uniforms worn by house staff and the actual rooms they slept in during their on-call hours.
11. A supply closet filled with things given to the staff by drug reps
12. Boxes of giveaways from conventions
13. A display of relics: a paper chart with handwritten notes, a stethoscope, a textbook of physical examination, and a pegboard system for tracking payments
14. An appointment book with Wednesday blocked out
15. A video room with TV programs showing doctors saving lives, falling in love and not having to type into an electronic medical record
16. A dissected arm from a cadaver with a scratch and sniff box that expels formalin, now that cadaver-less dissection is a reality.
17. A rejection letter from Yale
18. A mock up of a 1970s physician office with an actual shingle hanging on the entrance
19. A doctor doing telemedicine before the temporary relaxations on licensure and reimbursment were reinstated
20. A necktie with a medical school logo on it
21. Business cards
22. A private practice shingle

You can binge on this:

Please take your time to experience the golden age. We don't want to rush you, not like your doctor does today. That said, realize that happiness is overrated.

Some of the newest evidence suggests that people who focus on living with a sense of purpose as they age are more likely to remain cognitively intact, have better mental health and even live longer than people who focus on achieving feelings of happiness. We were thinking of renaming the museum the The Museum of Physician Purpose, but our donors pushed back.

We hope you enjoy your stay, and we appreciate your donation to the gift shop foundation.

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBAs is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs on Substack and Editor of Digital Health Entrepreneurship