news
one of my patients has died.
he was a healthy young man, tall and full of promise, who came to my er with a minor acute illness. i treated him and let him go home. his mom was a doctor, a lovely woman, and she knew indeed just what to do.
this week he was killed in a car crash.
i didn't know until, flipping through the channels this afternoon, i saw a woman on the local news talking about teen driving. she looked only vaguely familiar. she was incredibly composed. her lightly accented words were passionate and eloquent, and it was listening to her speak that made me suddenly recognize who she was.
perhaps it is strange to feel connected to my patients and their families after having met them only once. i don't know.
i am so very sad for her.
posted by CamoBunny at 16:51
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3 comments
3 Comments:
Ohhh. :(
I don't think it's strange to feel a connection to people in that way. Not at all. You have compassion and empathy and are a feeling person. It is a big part of what makes you a good doctor. You care.
*hug*
4/15/2006 10:12:00 PM
thank you, thérèse,
you are such a sweet person. i appreciate your comment lots.
*hug*
4/16/2006 09:18:00 PM
I mean it.
I once read that the ratio of doctors sued to doctors never sued had almost zero to do with actual skill, and everything to do with bedside manner. The doctors who cared about their patients and asked them about how they were feeling, talked to them, looked them in the eye and made them feel like they mattered never got sued, even when they made mistakes. It makes an enormous difference to a patient when she (or he) feels that her doctor cares about her.
Your patients are lucky. :)
4/18/2006 07:46:00 AM
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