Discover Magazine recently took interest in my medical detective practice in their "Medical Mysteries" issue, released June 2007, in an article entitled " The Real Dr. House." It's an in-depth peak at "The Real Dr. Bolte," comparing me to the TV character "Doctor Gregory House" played by actor Hugh Laurie on NBC's "House, MD." Doctor Gregory House is seen by many as "medicine's most brilliant mind." House, created by David Shore, reportedly arose from fictitious detective Sherlock Holmes created by writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Conan Doyle worked as a clerk while in medical school for a 19th century diagnostician named Doctor Joseph Bell. Bell was a master of the differential diagnosis through close observation, using all senses to identify the cause of one's illness. He possessed spectacular gifts of observation, analysis and inference. He advised his students: “Do not just look at a patient, but feel him, probe him, listen to him, smell him.” Doctor Bell is the originator of the phrase "elementary." Doctor House's side-kick is Wilson, Sherlock's was Watson. I don't have a sidekick. I bought a Treo, instead.
I didn't understand what "Real Doctor House" meant as I had watched only one episode of "House." The medical mystery of the episode seemed to be taken directly from the Merck Manual, so I knew where the medical mystery was going before House's epiphany. Dr. Gregory House, however, was an interesting character to study, so I set out to find out more about him, to possibly learn a little more about me. House and I are both medical diagnosticians who solve medical mysteries, we both play guitar, ride motorcycles and we both have dogs. We will both defy authority if it means saving a patient's life. Our similarities pretty much stop there: House has no bedside manner whatsoever. I see no empathy in his character, which suggests his diagnostic skills arise from mystical telepathic abilities. He is rude to his colleagues. He holds his glass half-empty. House is an arrogant zebra hunter who, in his eyes, alchemistically transforms a patient's pain and suffering back into the miserable life they had before their illness. It hits me like a pessimistic Woody Allen monologue, with fear replaced by anger. Woody would worry about all the hospital toilets flushing at the same time, as it would create even more misery. House wouldn't worry about it because we couldn't be any more miserable than we already are. The only sunshine in the character the viewer can see is that which we imagine must be there, because we are witnessing a miracle in each episode. I think House feels he deserves no praise for moving a patient out of one misery and into another. He despises his colleagues and patients who believe otherwise, and mocks them for it. House is definitely a "life's a bitch, and then you die" kind of guy. It's quite evocative.
House claims to be an atheist but is spiritual. He has an impressive dependency on the mind-altering narcotic vicodin, and likes magic mushrooms. He solves his cases in one hour, following an epiphany moment. He doesn't build houses. Most important, House resides in Hollywood's world of fantasy, and doesn't live in the material world. House is not really "real." Nevertheless, House is appealing. The show's message is the world is a better place with Dr. House around, despite his less-than-desirable peripheral attributes. It makes him "human," and not some sanitized symbol of total perfection, which we all supposedly aspire to, in the real world. Gena Gorlin, a Psychology major at Tufts University, provides an interesting analysis of Doctor House in her article published in the "Objective Standard."
The Real Doctor House article is available on newstands until October 2007 and the Discover Magazine website.
Real Doctor House Feedback: Letters and e-mails
More Essays
The essays below include my formal (and informal) education, "magic moments," and opinions on healthcare and politics. Magic Moments are those episodes which enhance life with enlightenment and wisdom. They are the spiritual learning experiences which re-shape our souls, and change the way we perceive the world, ourselves, and others. Such moments are often associated with a smile both at the time of occurrence and each reflection thereafter, and hopefully, when they are shared with others.
Doctor Bolte's Formal Medical Training
