TOW Post #19- Article: "When Doctors Need to Lie"

            When going to the doctors, we all go hoping that there is nothing wrong, or life threatening news that'll ruin your day and possibly your life. With such a high respected degree, we would believe that doctors always tell you the truth even when the truth can be hurtful or something that we wouldn't want to hear. Unfortunately doctors may not be always a one hundred percent truthful according to a doctor who wrote in the opinion section of The Atlantic. 

             A regular writer for the NY Times and a cardiologist, Sandeepn Jauhar wrote about how doctors do lie sometimes in his article "When Doctors Need to Lie". Throughout the article Jauhar reveals the hard decisions that doctors faced when regarding their patients' health and on the other hand their feelings. By using anecdotes and example studies/research, Jauhar is able to achieve his purpose; that when doctors lie the overall intention is good thus protecting the patient.

            Jauhar opens up his article with an anecdote, starting with the few words "I ONCE had the unenviable task of informing a 22-year-old Jamaican man that he was suffering from severe heart failure and would probably need a heart transplant." Just with this first sentence Jauhar is able to establishes credibility, thus helping him achieve his purpose, because he has now shown his readers that he knows what he is talking about. He continues on with the story revealing that he told this patient of his a lie; by saying everything will be ok. But he then explained a within a few visits he gradually told his patient the bad news. By using this anecdote Jauhar achieves his purpose because if he didn't gradually tell  his patient the news, it could of affected his patients mental and overall health do to shock.

            Jauhar uses multiple anecdotes tat establish his credibility and also helps him achieve his purpose. But to stronger support his purpose, he incorporate research findings. He states that in the years between 1932-1972 a number of patients were treated for diseases due to the attitude of doctors called paternalism, aka protecting the feelings of their patients when it comes to bad news. Incorporating this experiment into his article, Jauhar is able to strongly achieve  support his purpose