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

Why I rely on non-physician providers

Don S. Dizon, MD
Physician
May 29, 2013
Share
Tweet
Share

asco-logoI still recall my first rotation as an inpatient attending at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Perhaps it was the anxiety that I remembered most; that I was “in charge” of a service. Fortunately, having done fellowship at MSKCC, the system was not a foreign one, and I knew exactly where to go to get oriented—I went to Jane and Dorothy, our nurse practitioners whose full-time job was to help care for the women on our inpatient gynecologic oncology medicine service.

During that time, I admitted “Linda.” She was young, married only recently, and had been urgently transferred to our hospital with a rare cancer—metastatic gestational trophoblastic disease. As her stay went on, I would visit her and her husband after rounds, and it became routine for me to stop by her room to chat with them both before I left for the day.

After four weeks as the inpatient rounder, I rotated off service. Swept up in outpatient responsibilities, I never did get back to the floor. Yet even while I was back in my “regular” job, I found myself wondering how Linda was doing. One afternoon, Jane paged me to the floor.

“Hey, Jane, what’s up?” I asked.

“Hi Don; just an FYI—Linda is doing great and will be going home today. She wanted me to make sure you knew.”

“That’s great,” I replied, smiling. “Please tell her and her husband I wish them well,” I said.

 “I already did,” she said.

Even today, I find it reassuring that Jane was able to close this loop (and many others) for me.

No matter how much time goes by, I always have a certain sense of anxiety when my turn as inpatient attending comes up. In my current role at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), I am only required to do this for a few weeks a year; however, it is still daunting to care for patients admitted with little knowledge of “who” is in house, let alone “why.” Fortunately, like MSKCC, MGH has a group of exceptional nurse practitioners to help us take care of patients on the inpatient service.

In my career thus far, I consider myself fortunate to have worked with non-physician providers who, like Jane and Dorothy, have participated in the care of my own patients. In the inpatient setting, it meant helping me to get acclimated to the service, patients, and their loved ones. More than that, I have also come to rely on them as a way to ensure my patients (both inpatient and in clinic) get the highest level of care we are capable of providing.

Ultimately, despite the demands on time, duties of outpatient practice, and objectives to be met in academics and beyond, physicians have an obligation to meet the needs of their patients. That job is easier thanks to the men and women who, like us, have devoted their own professional career to the care of patients with cancer. Working in partnership, we can achieve most of what all of us aim to accomplish, without sacrificing the quality care that our patients deserve. It is a model of health care delivery I have learned not only to embrace, but to rely upon.

Don S. Dizon is an oncologist who blogs at ASCO Connection, where this post originally appeared.

Prev

Visiting my family member: A tale of two facilities

May 29, 2013 Kevin 109
…
Next

Please don't call me a hospitalist

May 29, 2013 Kevin 8
…

ADVERTISEMENT

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine, Oncology/Hematology

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Visiting my family member: A tale of two facilities
Next Post >
Please don't call me a hospitalist

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Don S. Dizon, MD

  • As an oncologist, this is the hardest role I play

    Don S. Dizon, MD
  • Why physicians should acknowledge the validity of second opinions

    Don S. Dizon, MD
  • A patient who taught an important lesson in doctoring

    Don S. Dizon, MD

More in Physician

  • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

    Curtis G. Graham, MD
  • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Time theft: the unseen harm of abusive oversight

    Kayvan Haddadan, MD
  • Why more doctors are leaving clinical practice and how it helps health care

    Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA
  • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Why starting with why can transform your medical practice

    Neil Baum, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions
    • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

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 138 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

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions
    • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

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

Why I rely on non-physician providers
138 comments

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

Loading Comments...