Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The patient experience can be dehumanizing

Joyce Ho, MD
Physician
April 12, 2013
Share
Tweet
Share

Being a clinical student is not a walk in the park. When we get together for “Reflections on Clerkship” days every two months in our small groups, students let the floodgates open about the hardships they have been facing on rotations. I am no exception. Transitioning to a strict schedule in the hierarchical world of academic medicine has been no small feat. In fact I was planning earlier this morning to write a post about some of the more subtle difficulties of rotations. But after spending time reflecting on a few patient experiences, I realized I can’t write that entry. Instead, I’m going to write the opposite of that entry, because I think some doctors out there need this reminder.

I think life for a patient in a hospital is incredibly rough. You must be thinking, “Well that’s obvious. They’re sick, suffering, and in a hospital for crying out loud.” But I think people in the medical profession sometimes forget how rough it is, because they are so caught up in the business of treating the disease, not the patient as a whole. And the patient experience can be very dehumanizing. Think of it this way: patients relinquish control over their own bodies so that you can run tests on it, cut it open, and inject drugs into it. Patients make themselves vulnerable to physicians because they trust us, and that trust is not something we should take lightly.

For this entry I want to talk about the little things we as doctors do to patients regularly. I’m not talking surgeries or life threatening procedures. Think more along the lines of daily blood tests or the type of diet we put patients on. For doctors, ordering a morning CBC (blood test) is as easy as clicking a checkbox in the patient’s medical record. Sometimes we forget that this means the patient wakes up to a needle stick. I get my blood drawn once a year and still dread it. And morning rounds. As tired as we are to be rounding at 5 am, I can’t help but think about how tired the patients must be. Imagine being woken up while it’s dark outside to have your surgical wound poked while a team of residents and students are staring at you and asking questions. I sure wouldn’t be a happy camper.

One of the things we do most often in the hospital is to keep patients NPO – in latin it means “nil per os” which translates to nothing by mouth. I know few things with certainty in life, but 25 years of being me has taught me that I transform into a grumpy uncooperative and irrational person when deprived of food. Patients go for days without food, and we expect them to still lovingly embrace our clinical decisions when they’re in that state?

I am playing a bit of devil’s advocate here because you know (or I hope you do) that I am fully aware of the importance of rounding and morning labs and keeping patients NPO. I know these things, among other even more unpleasant procedures and interventions, are absolutely necessary for the patient’s health…most of the time. What I’m proposing is for doctors to try showing a little more empathy. Many of my patients don’t understand why they’re NPO, and they’re understandably angry. Perhaps explaining clearly why and for how long they need to refrain from eating will help frame their thinking. More patience during morning rounds when patients are slow to wake up or cranky from lack of sleep would be appreciated. Give them some time to wake up and answer your questions while alert instead of mumbling answers in a fog of sleep. Just be aware that everything you do and order affects your patients in a very real and sometimes painful way.

Sometimes on rotations, I get exhausted thinking about how little sleep I got the night before or how hungry I am from missing multiple meals during long surgeries. But whatever I face in the hospital is nothing compared to what patients are going through. Again, this must seem so obvious to some readers, and perhaps it is more obvious to readers who aren’t in the medical field. But sometimes in the chaotic daily routine of hospital work, you can forget this humbling thought. And if we can go forward with empathy for little things that you wouldn’t think twice about earlier, then maybe we can make the hospital a slightly better place to be.

Joyce Ho is a medical student who blogs at Tea with MD.  She can be reached on Twitter @MedGlobalHealth.

Prev

The male gynecologist: Tips to connect with female patients

April 12, 2013 Kevin 125
…
Next

Change the warfare metaphors when it comes to illness

April 12, 2013 Kevin 8
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine, Patients

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The male gynecologist: Tips to connect with female patients
Next Post >
Change the warfare metaphors when it comes to illness

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Joyce Ho, MD

  • 5 tips to maintain work-life balance as a medical intern

    Joyce Ho, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    When patients attack: How safe are health care workers?

    Joyce Ho, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Is there a place for religion in the exam room?

    Joyce Ho, MD

More in Physician

  • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • The gift we keep giving: How medicine demands everything—even our holidays

    Tomi Mitchell, MD
  • From burnout to balance: a neurosurgeon’s bold career redesign

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why working in Hawai’i health care isn’t all paradise

    Clayton Foster, MD
  • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

    Patrick Hudson, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • 5 blind spots that stall physician wealth

      Johnny Medina, MSc | Finance
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Why medical schools must ditch lectures and embrace active learning

      Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA | Education
    • Why helping people means more than getting an MD

      Vaishali Jha | Education
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 7 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • 5 blind spots that stall physician wealth

      Johnny Medina, MSc | Finance
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Why medical schools must ditch lectures and embrace active learning

      Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA | Education
    • Why helping people means more than getting an MD

      Vaishali Jha | Education
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

The patient experience can be dehumanizing
7 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...