Opinion Essay Sample: Doctors are Superheroes
Through the course of, the Covid-19 pandemic, doctors and medical staff demonstrated the true definition of a superhero. A doctor is a superhero because of the way they contribute to the community and help people in need. In their own way, they save lives and work to bring the best out of people. When you’re unsure about something going on with your body such as illness, injury, and infection, it’s good to know you can consult your doctor. It is important to note that although doctors may not be able to save everyone, their ultimate goal is to help provide proper health to the livers of their patients no matter the cost. A superhero is typically defined as someone who wears a costume or has powers. I believe that doctors are superheroes because they make sacrifices to ensure the common good of the public.
Heroism is demonstrated through determination to make the world a better place, recent efforts of medical professionals have successfully portrayed this heroism. Doctors’ increased efforts have helped society recover from illness and disease. From the year 2018 to 2019, over 985,000 people reportedly chose to move into the medical field and specialize in health, the majority of these individuals became doctors or nurses. (Science Direct, 2021, p.4). This demonstrates how much more dedicated medical professionals are to bring assistance to society than in previous years. Throughout the entirety of the Covid-19 pandemic, social media allowed doctors and nurses to demonstrate the effects of working long hours and share the obstacles that came along with the increased volume of Covid cases. During the last year, we saw how determined doctors and medical professionals are while everyone else was in the comfort of their own home.
Superheroes such as Iron Man use their enhanced knowledge to assist those in need. Although doctors don’t have an iron suit, they use their knowledge to bring people back to good health. The average person has no access to the knowledge that doctors have obtained through years of studying. Just like how society leans on superheroes, they also lean on the help of medical professionals. Doctors and medical professionals play a crucial role in the battle against terminal illnesses and diseases (Taylor & Francis, 2021). There is no question that doctors have a significant role in the well-being of society. Doctors help provide us with reliable information that we use to help battle against illnesses such as the flu, diabetes, and cancer. They also help provide insight and diagnosis for common colds that the average person cannot identify. For example, if an individual is unsure of an illness they are experiencing, they can consult a doctor and receive a diagnosis along with valuable treatments for their specific illness.
Just like how superheroes make sacrifices, doctors sacrifice years of studying and dedication to prepare for any medical situation. Every superhero has an origin story that consists of years of preparation and sacrifices. Doctors have one of the hardest paths to a successful career. The typical doctor goes through a 4-year undergrad, 4-year medical school, and a 7-year residency program” (Indeed, 2021). The average American goes through only 4 years of collegiate studies for their chosen career. When compared with doctors, there is no doubt that they sacrifice more to perform their duties. Along with years of studying, doctors also sacrifice a lot of time to ensure that their patients get the best service. The average doctor works 40-hour weeks and typically works day and night. During these long labor hours, doctors risk their own personal health. In the past year alone, more than 90% of doctors worked double their given hours to help fight against Covid-19 despite the increased risk to their health (Indeed, 2021). This fully demonstrates the lengths in which doctors are willing to go to bring their patients the best medical services possible. As a direct result of these efforts, the Covid-19 pandemic has been significantly reduced and is now on a downward trend. This would have not been possible without the increased effort and sacrifices those medical professionals have made.
Many people try to argue that doctors and nurses are not superheroes because they don’t save lives 100% of the time. Margaret McAllister points out that nurses and doctors can make mistakes that can occur in operations. This point is invalid because when tragedy occurs EMTs, doctors, and nurses alleviate the situation rather than making it worse. They do everything they can to ensure that patients get back to good health. Although not every person is able to be saved, doctors tend to save more lives than they lose. This was demonstrated through the medical efforts against Covid-19. Doctors save over 500,000 lives a year and the incline of lives saved has been increasing steadily, with each doctor saving about 20-50 lives a year alone (India Today, 2021). Although the work of doctors during this pandemic should be valued and appreciated, and undoubtedly, many doctors are taking heroic action by putting their own lives at risk in order to save others.
Overall, I believe that doctors are superheroes because they make sacrifices to ensure the common good of the public. When Covid-19 occurred, doctors were commonly considered superheroes by the public. After taking a closer look I believe they should have earned this title a lot earlier since medicine has been saving lives for decades. Doctors work long days and put in a lot of effort to provide the best medical help possible. Even though not every doctor has a 100% success rate they do the best for their patient with the best treatments that they have available. Without modern-day professionals, society would be vulnerable to harmful diseases such as Covid-19 and other outbreaks.
