"The Doc Knight" by MSIH first year blogger Jon Rom

Hey! I’m Jon, a first year in the MSIH program. A bit about me, I’m 23-years old, I have a bachelor’s degree in medical sciences and a master’s degree in public health, and I love dogs (crucial information). I’m excited to have been given this exciting opportunity to write about my experiences here in Israel and Ben-Gurion University, and I’d like to start things off by talking to you about Batman.

It’s likely that last bit wasn’t what you were expecting when you started reading this. You’ll learn that dealing with the unexpected is a reoccurring theme here in Israel. It is invaluable to learn how to cope with surprises, both good and bad. You can consider this your initiation into that world. I’m actually doing you a favor. You’re welcome.

Now then, to Batman. The Caped Crusader, The Dark Knight, and so forth… One of the most iconic heroes to ever be portrayed or animated. Why is he being discussed on a med-school blog? Is it because of his treasure trove of villains? Will I deconstruct characters that would occupy any psychiatrist’s entire career in reaching proper diagnosis and treatment? Though that partially fuels my fascination, it’s not quite why we are discussing this hero. How about how frequently he gets impossibly wounded without receiving repeated, extensive medical attention? Is Batman not only the world’s greatest detective but also the world’s greatest physician? I like the way you think, but still not quite what I had in mind.

I want to talk to you about Batman because he creates a mythos that doctors often unwittingly emulate in their practice. He starts off his story being traumatized by an injustice in the world and declares total war on it. For Batman, the idea of “injustice” is the enemy, and for doctors, it is the idea of the “unhealthy”. He protects the good citizens of Gotham, and the doctor protects the patient. Sometimes both even get so lucky as to win without too much collateral damage. But it is not just the impetus or the goals that relate the doctor to The Bat, but the journey to become a hero.

This doctor’s “hero’s journey” takes even the most brilliant individual to the limits of both physical and mental capacity. While Bruce Wayne (spoilers) is often described as a man obsessed during his years training to become an unstoppable force, so is the med student as he or she toils to understand what preceding master physicians and researchers spent entire careers to discover. He learns how to command and control pain and so do we.

Now my conceit does not take me quite so far as to claim that I’m exactly like Batman. I certainly condone the scientific method over vigilantism. But while I find myself far away from my hometown in hopes of acquiring the skills to become a clinician, I cannot help but wonder what an in-training Bruce told himself when his “mission” to rid Gotham of crime seemed insurmountable. There is no story, no instance in the multi-verse where Batman quits his training because it’s too daunting, stressful or hopeless. Yet a med-student comparison group has a considerably higher attrition rate.

I think that Batman hasn’t ever quit his journey because he cannot. Bruce is driven by something he doesn’t fully understand until he is already decades into wearing his black, armored suit. I, similarly, will not be satisfied working in another profession, and am in this program because I have to answer a calling I cannot yet fully define. Batman strives to use his resources and intellect to make a positive impact despite countless obstacles, hardships, and miseries. Medical students share that drive, they just don’t dawn a cape and cowl.

This tenacity is our shared, defining trait. Whether we succeed or not makes no difference in how noble the pursuit is. If Michal Cane’s voice just said “Why do we fall down, Master Bruce?” in your head, then you’re certainly picking up on what I’m getting at. Would-be doctors and Batman pick themselves back up again because we are wired to do so. There is far too much at stake to throw in the towel.

You may not know that physicians play a crucial role in the Batman lore. Dr. Leslie Tompkins, a friend of Bruce’s parents, is in some iterations (see: Batman, The Animated Series) the first figure to comfort Bruce upon his parents’ murder. She represents compassion and good-samaratinism, ideal traits every doctor should be a proud example of. This act of kindness instills in young Bruce a belief that there are those in Gotham that still believe in doing the right, selfless thing.

This is spurred on by the memory of his own late father, Thomas Wayne, a surgeon who uses his time and energy to help others despite his vast fortune. In Gotham, medical practitioners represent giving up your own comfort and needs for the sake of a greater good, a staple of the Batman character. It’s this genuine hope and trust in Gotham, in people, that has me wondering if Dr. Bruce Wayne would not have been a better fit in a saner city.

Hopefully this short rant convinces you that when I sit around re-watching Batman cartoons and reading synopsis on his adventures, what I’m actually doing is brushing up on what being a better doctor looks like. It behooves us to be selfless and daring, driven and competent, complex and kind.
Perhaps not someone who jumps rooftop to rooftop on patrol, but a guardian all the same.

Or maybe construction on my bat cave isn’t finished yet and I’m just killing time. Either way.