Almost
everyday for the past 9 years, I have worn a stethoscope around my neck, listening
to patients complain about their bodies, what hurts, what doesn't work and then
treating them as best I can with my exam, training, experience and what is
available to me. Over the years, at
times I have found it frustrating, when patients don't trust me and my
assessment of their illness, when they demand a certain test, or when they keep
coming back for the same complaint over and over again, despite having done
everything I can do to reassure them they are okay. As their doctor, at the end of the
interaction, I still get to do what is best for them and treat them the best I
can.
For a
week that changed, when I accompanied my colleagues and friends - the McCoys to
Brisbane for a medical evaluation. I was
no longer the one wearing the stethoscope, I was no longer the one knowing all
that was happening, what test was ordered, what wasn't, when something was
going to happen, how things worked in the Australian medical system, etc. I no longer was in control and found it
frustrating. Frustrating being on the
other side not feeling like you are being heard, not feeling like the doctors were
understanding what we were trying to communicate, what was our biggest concern,
that we were just another patient and not important to them.
Since I
have been back, I have tried to remember what it was like on the other
side. What it is like when you aren't in
control, when your questions and concerns aren't fully answered, when you don't
feel like you have been heard, etc. I
have tried to be more compassionate, listen a little longer and take more time
to explain what is going on with the patient. Being on the other side helped to remind me
what it is like for the anxious patients and their family members sitting on
the bench in my exam room, or in the ER waiting to be seen. I hope it stays with me a while.
