 The ultimate test for any physician is the progress and treatment of his/her patients, which is often dependent on the multiple roles a physician must perform to provide holistic care for patients. Whether those roles include a healer, spiritual motivator, psychologist, or friend will vary from patient to patient; however, the communication essential for a healthy patient-physician relationship is universal.
One patient in particular that truly epitomized the multiple roles of a physician was a young man diagnosed with late stage leukemia. Clinically, his lab results showed little progress and were not indicative of improvement. On several occasions, my uncle had notified the family that it may be the patient's final day and even final hours. On every one of those occasions, however, those hours of despair turned out to be another set of hurdles overcome. The patient was very mind-strong and the family was very religious, a mix of which had to be acknowledged, respected and included in the treatment plans by the physician. In a world where Medicine is becoming more like a business and in a country where efficiency is a necessity to see one's load of patients, there is a price which seems to be time for lengthy patient-physician interactions. The hurried pace at which the residents and attending physician worked everyday and the limited time they had to interact with patients made me realize how important my time with the patients was. I was able to spend hours listening to their stories, listening to their dreams for the future, listening to their grievances, and supporting them through their daily struggles. I was an open ear, a friend who had the time to sit at the foot of each of their beds for hours at a time, and someone they could trust. I would like to keep this summer as a reminder of how precious and rewarding a patient-physician relationship could be, and how necessary and beneficial it is to the health and well-being of a patient. |
