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I Need My Patients as Much as They Need Me
Kendra Campbell -- Before I start, I want to take a moment to thank everyone for all their comments on my last post. I enjoyed reading all of them (even the negative ones!) and I appreciate everyone taking the time to leave me helpful advice and thoughtful words. To provide a very quick update, my surgery rotation has been going so much better! It turns out that my first week was just a horrible combination of a heavy patient load, not knowing the hospital, being new to rotations, and a bunch of other things. Since then, things have been going much more smoothly. (Although I still have a lot to say about medical training, which I’ll share in the future.)
Today I had an encounter with a patient who spoke very little English. Her doctor had explained to her that she needed an above the knee amputation, but hadn’t done the best job of explaining it to her in a way she could understand. In addition to that, I don’t think the doctor realized how much of their conversation had been lost in translation. When I came in to examine her, I could tell that she was very upset. I had to contact a few people and find a way to explain to her what was going on. After I helped, she thanked me profusely for taking the time to help her understand her options.
Afterwards, I felt so glad that I had paused in my busy day to help ease her anxiety. The time I spent running around trying to figure things out turned out to be much more appreciated than my cleaning and dressing of her wounds. It made me feel like more of a doctor than auscultating her heart or percussing her abdomen.
The past two weeks of my surgery rotation have been so empowering for me. I’ve finally had the opportunity to spend lots of time with my patients. I’ve been able to really get to know them. I’ve even had the opportunity to participate in their care and operate on them. I’ve seen their progression from the emergency room, to being admitted, to being prepped for surgery, to their actual operation, and then to their experiences post-operatively. No longer are they just a series of lab values or vital signs. I know their stories. I’ve aided in their care.
This is what makes me get up at 5:00 in the morning. This is what makes me be able to work for 12+ hours. This is what makes me want to get up in the morning and do it all over again.
Many times I have thought about doctors who choose fields like research and healthcare policy, where there is less patient contact. Honestly, I don’t know how they do it. I sometimes say that I am selfish because I don’t think I could do it. Yes, they might be able to help more people in the end, but I guess I need that instant gratification. I need to see that smile on my patient’s face. I need to hear their words of relief. I need to touch them and ease their suffering when possible.
I’ve received so many kind thanks from patients over the years. But I want all of them to know that I’ve received so much from them. They keep me going. They are more of a gift to me than I think I’ve ever been to them. And that’s something to be thankful for.
September 10, 2008 in Kendra Campbell | Permalink
Comments
i am really amazed by what you have said. i didn't think that these sort of an experience would be happening in real life. i always thought that these sort of working attitude was only a fairy tale like thing! thank you for sharing us with your story it made me feel that medicine is something that is truly different from other professions!!
Posted by: phang | Sep 10, 2008 9:30:45 PM
Thanks for the post, Kendra!
In the beginning of our obs & gyne block I found it extremely frustrating how little patients know about their medical/surgical/obstetric history, even with important things like the type of incision they had with their previous caesarian sections, which will determine whether they can deliver normally in this pregnancy or not. But a week into the block I realised that the reason for their knowing is that nobody actually sits down & explains things to them. Granted, a lot of our patients come from a background where whatever the doctor says, goes, and they don't think to question things, but then end up having procedures that they often don't know the reason for. I then made a point of sitting down with each patient, when I had a chance, and explaining to them what was happening, and what to expect next. It made a HUGE difference and they all thanked me for it. One place where it was greatly appreciated was in the labour ward, where I saw several primigravidas (giving birth alone) who had never had the process of labour explained to them! Just knowing what to expect seemed to reduce their anxiety. From now on, whenever I get the chance, I'm going to make a point of making sure the patient knows and understands what is happening with their own body! And you're right, it is a deeply satisfying profession.
Posted by: Linda | Sep 11, 2008 6:45:02 AM
I'm so glad things are going much smoother for you. I hope you continue to feel empowered!
Posted by: Jared at The Doctor Job | Sep 11, 2008 7:36:44 AM
Totally agree. I once had a patient who was going in for his 2nd round of chemo, and when I asked him what he knew about his conditions - he asked me if he had a cancer or not. I was amazed how he was never officially informed about his diagnosis (he said the doctor told him something but he never really understood - and he's a native English speaker). The key I think is to be able to feel how we feel right now after 10 years of busy practice. Keep up a good work!
Posted by: Sour | Sep 11, 2008 7:32:05 PM
Hi Kendra! Just as the last one, this's a great post too, I think I can reply to your last two paragraphs.
I'm a 3rd year medical student, and ever since I have a memory I wanted to be a doctor, but my main reason to pursue this career was because I was curious about everything in the scientific sense, I just wanted to know how everything in the human body worked, it wasn't to cure and help ppl, as it is for most of the med students.
I enjoyed the first 2 years (Basic Science) but I started to feel like I should have quit when I started clinical years, sometimes I felt I made the wrong decision by going to medschool, like I should have gone for biology or a PhD in Molecular medicine or something.
I finally decided to keep on going, and now It's been 3 years after I started clinical science (In my country we spend more time in clinic, even 4 months "tortured";) in surgery), I'm about to finish all the core clerkships and I'm still not sure on what to do after I graduate, either pursuing a research career or a clinical career (I still like surgery, infectious diseases and even psychiatry), because I agree with you when you said it's a great feeling and a satisfying reward when patients thank you for what you are doing.
Well, by now I'm going to take USMLE steps to go and take some rotations in the USA, I still have my last year to decide (I hope to make up my mind by then!)
But yeah, it's not bad when doctors choose research, it's also a great feeling when you satisfy your need of knowledge, when you realize there's a molecular and biological/logical explanation for almost everything, rather than "simple" evidence-based studies where they dont care on going further to give detailed explanations that aren't just like "we concluded that X is associated to Y because OR was (1,3-5,6 CI95%)" which personally I don't find logical, neither do they satisfy my scientific instinct to have exact explanations for the processes of human body.
It might as well be rewarding for a researcher to discover something that can eventually help to cure thousands of ppl even if they don't know you are the one behind it and they can't thank you directly, wouldn't be? (Same thing applies to Healthcare policy)
Greetings from Bogotá, Colombia!
Ps. I dont have anything against evidence-based medicine, they make the practice easier, I just think they should go further in the science leaving the statistics behind once in a while :)
Posted by: Diego Nova | Sep 12, 2008 5:53:14 PM
i totally agree with you...SOmetimes when we are so tired of all the ward work and studies...Our patients can brightened up our day with just a simple conversation or even a smile....This is what makes all the hardship and sacrifice seems so insignificant...
From
kok soon,malaysia UM
Posted by: kok soon | Sep 18, 2008 2:53:59 AM
i totally agree with you about the "instant gratification"..my mom keeps telling me that it is equally important that i should do research as well as practice...but i feel that the reason i was drawn to medicine in the first place was the people i will get to meet (and hopefully help) as well as their lives I will learn about...this is what will probably keep me more interested...i really understand how this motivates you to wake up in the morning and work hard (it's just like how you're eager to know what happens in the next episode)...which i think shows that you "care" ..
very touching post!
Posted by: workaholic888 | Sep 18, 2008 9:55:55 AM
I totally agree with you!
Recently I ended my rotation on Surgery (I'm on my fifth year of med school, in Peru) and I remember one of my patients from that time.
She had just been diagnosed with gastric cancer, and was waiting for a gastrectomy. I had to write her clinical chart, so we talked about her disease. At one moment, she started crying, and I held her while her tears streamed out. I tried to calm her the best I could, telling her how important it was for her to spend time with her family and loved ones, sharing moments with them. And I told her it was very important to trust God's work, and to pray for strength during the hard time.
After that interaction, I felt very connected to this patient. When she came out of surgery, she evolved favourably (thank God) and before she left the hospital to go home, we talked, and she thanked me for being next to her, and blessed my hands.
I truly cherished that moment, and gave me a tremendous boost to go on. So I can tell you, I totally agree with you! Thanks for sharing!
God bless!
Joy
Posted by: Johana | Sep 18, 2008 10:50:44 AM
glad i really learned that since i was in my 1st dept, pediatrics... n got the best lesson during obstetrics. the story was
every group in obstetrical dept have to go to the satellite hospitals, where they agreed to accept us for a week. there were once, in one of the hospital i attended, came a lady, she had PROM. me n my group members who were in the night shift took care of her. but there were problems and she had to be send to the main hospital, which is our teaching hospital. and several days after the incidence, a lady came to me, and thanked me for taking good care of her sister. i was shocked. but honestly, she really made my day.
but anyway, when you are attending night shift in surgery dept, u will know n feel those....
Posted by: jonazzz | Sep 19, 2008 6:21:19 AM
I know what you mean - I had a horrible experience on my OBGYN rotation (I'm a 3rd year student, on Pediatrics now, with Surgery after this and then I'm a 4th year - woo!) The atmosphere was so uncomfortable and the attitudes of most of the residents and one or two of the attendings made me dread each day. If I didn't adore patients so much, I would not have made it through those 8 weeks. They definitely kept me coming in every day. And one of my gyn surgery patients told me that I was the kindest person she'd encountered in the hospital so far. Sometimes, I think patient feedback is the most important feedback we receive!
Posted by: Kim | Sep 19, 2008 7:49:07 AM
hi kendra!I prefer research.may be no one thanks me but I know it will help all!that's enough.
Posted by: | Sep 22, 2008 9:24:39 AM
