How Doctors Die by Ken Murray

How Doctors Die is about how most doctors prefer to die, or at least that is the author's opinion. Every single day doctors are saving lives, helping in saving lives, or in the process of making sure their patient has a little longer to live. They've seen it all, their patients go through medicines, treatments, khemo therapy, nights in and out of the hospital, and plenty more. Doctors experience the treatment and illness through their patients, and only turn their heads if it ever became their turn. "I cannot count the number of times fellow physicins have told me, inwords that vary only slightly, 'Promise me if you find me like this that you'll kill me.'" (232) Although patients are getting treated daily, the process they go through comes off as miserable to most doctors. Patients getting cut open, tubes getting shoved into their bodies, assaulted with drugs. Not only to mention that this intensive care unit could cost thousands of dollars a day. Doctors feel as though they want to die happily, not alone, and not in pain. They believe that little treatment and spending your final times with quality instead of quanity is the better way to go. "Death with dignity."(235)
Ken Murray, the author of this essay, was a family medical doctor who had a private practice of general medicine for 25 years. This essay, actually, has brought him most of the attention he has recieved and currently writes for an online magazine of ideas: Zocalo Public Square. The purpose of him writing this essay, is to give the audience of those who may be connected to a doctor specifically, or possibly a former patient in a hospital, the idea that doctors feel about their way of dying. The audience can get a better understanding of possibly why a doctor may choose to die the way he dies, for it could have been a relative or a friend who was a doctor and chose the same path. The essay gives several examples and points of evidence as to why doctors choose a death with dignity and a death with quality, rather than quantity. I believe that Ken Murray achieved his purpose. Even in just 4 pages, I was able to grasp the feeling of the doctors who treat patients everyday, and why they may choose less treatment for themselves if they were ever to become ill. Ken Murray, also being a doctor for 25 years can understand as the author and the narrator so the essay can really connect to an actual doctor's feelings.
The rhetorical device enumeratio, is used to help Ken Murray's examples throughout the essay. For example, Torch, his older cousin, decided to recieve less treatment for his cancer and enjoy his last few months and having fun. Ken Murray was using this example to prove the better quality in Torch's last few days, meaning company, adventures, food, and money. Enumeratio makes a point with details. The author makes the point of quality and includes the details of Torch gaining weight because he isn't just eating hospital food, and going to Disneyland because he can. Torch ended up dying in his sleep, painless...the cost of his medical care for the 8 months he lived was around $20. Khemo therapy wasn't promising him anything over 4 months of survival, that costing several thousands of dollars. Ken Murray was able to reach the point with his example which was also supported by several other examples.

Source

"No Code" 

Do not try and save a doctor from his death, do not resuscitate. They want to die with as much happiness as possible. Not to die alone or in pain; but to die with dignity.