Doctoring Quote by Patrick Rothfuss
““You know that proper doctoring means hard choices.” She gave me an unflinching look. “We hain’t like other folk. You burn a man with an iron to stop his bleeding. You save the mother and lose the babe. It’s hard, and nobody ever thanks you for it. But we’re the ones that have to choose.” She””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, 2007
The quote highlights the painful moral dilemmas faced by healers who must choose between competing lives, often without gratitude.
In simple terms: Doctors must make tough, thankless choices.
Key Takeaway
Accept the weight of difficult decisions.
Themes
ethics
medicine
sacrifice
responsibility
Mood
somber
reflective
Type
ethical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- emergency surgery
- war zone medicine
- organ transplantation decisions
- pediatric care
Key Concepts
moral dilemma
triage
professional duty
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you reconcile personal values with professional duty?
- What support helps you bear such burdens?
A Different Perspective
The decision may be constrained by limited resources or systemic pressures.
![“I asked [my father] what there was to make doctoring more disgusting than nursing, which women were always doing, and which ladies had done publicly in the Crimea. He could not tell me.” quote by Elizabeth Garrett Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/24f/elizabeth-garrett-anderson-558_crimea_i-asked-my-father-what-there-was-to-make_2248242.jpg)
