Jean Robey is a nephrologist who blogs at ethosofmedicine.
She placed the stack neatly aside with all forms diligently signed and dated. The inbox was cleared. Being finally rested, her tasks of staying on top of duties and focusing on executions became briefly easier. A few patient callbacks, an eight-page disability form to fill out, a doctor to connect with, seven notes to complete and two test results to review and relay would round off the already pregnant day. …
Yesterday was the perfect storm.
The combination of articles printed over the weeks seem to give me a morose outlook on the medical profession.
Article 1: A specialist had reasoned the medical world was in shambles because “specialist” try to rule the world with unnecessary obscurity. His example was acid reflux and how addressing it was a failure in delivering simple remedies. My throat was bitter with betrayal.
Article 2: An insurance company …
2016 closed around a continued effort to “salvage” the medical profession’s reputation, but the notion that it’s broken continues to be counterproductive.
The brightest students, for example, question the long journey and delayed gratification being a physician entails. They do the math and continue to engage in other professions that are medical but not specifically Medical Doctorate degrees or Doctor of Osteopathic degrees. These same students conclude there is no longer …
The day after the 2016 election I went to work, and from medicine, I better understood the outcome of the election and the next goal of America.
Driving into the hospital, I called the ICU of an acute rehabilitation hospital to check on a patient. He had sepsis from a very complex urinary tract infection which exacerbated his chronic hypotension. He already had renal failure on dialysis and was on chronic …
We were a team of women. A strong, intelligent female attending, a fellow, me as the resident, and the eager intern. Gunners in the ICU. Throwing in lines and throwing out numbers and grilling newly published papers for truth.
Then I got a call from the head of the department. I was asked about another fellow in the program. A male fellow. His behavior was in question. I was asked if …
I walked into a patient’s room and noticed the hospital has supplied a fold up stool hung on the wall labeled “For Physicians.”
I shrug. I take it down the stool and open it up and seat it next to the patient’s bed. I greet the patient, and we discuss how he feels and what all is transpiring and planned for the day. He feels cold, nervous, pain in his back, …
I walked into my bathroom feeling the wet floor. I traced the source back to a toilet overflowing with a neon green T-shirt lodged in it. The T-shirt failed to evacuate into the nexus of sewage. My 7-year-old son hates the T-shirt. Having watched for years foul things disappear when flushed down the toilet, he attempted to rid himself of something he disliked. It failed and the toilet overflowed.
I called …
A recent movie series called Divergent depicted a dystopia that created five factions: Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Erudite (intellectual), Amity (peaceful or charitable), and Candor (honest or just) or Divergent (a unique combination of traits that thinks for the whole more seamlessly). This movie’s premise made me wonder: What faction would a modern day doctor belong to?
I recently wrote a piece, “Physicians will take back the beside.” One …
Physician wellness begins in realizing our identity in medicine and society. Shamans, priest, and healers have existed in ancient times and in small and large indigenous tribes since man began to gather together in social packs. The unique role of tribal and community leaders who guarded health and wellness was understood as important for the whole of society.
All doctors have degrees of empathy. We as an order select for this …
Cleveland Clinic published an article that cited the work of Cynthia Kubu, PhD, a neuropsychologist in Cleveland Clinic’s department of psychiatry and psychology. She examined the potential of focusing on relationship center care to help provide good care and long-term care giving for physicians. Cleveland Clinic uses the REDESM (relationship, establishment, development, and engagement) which focuses on the provider-patient relationship as the premise for care. The idea is a physician …
I saw a new residency graduate post about how balanced she will choose to be and how not taking work home would keep her idealism alive. Like a woman who has been pregnant and gone through delivery and postpartum, I wanted to tell her the truth about how emotions get changed in practice and how the emotions become physical ailments at times. I wanted to tell her birthing and raising …
The Washington Post featured an article by Dr. Michael Stein, “We all want doctors to be kind. But does kindness actually help us get better?” He presented intriguing but inconclusive data regarding the benefits of a “kind” doctor on control of diabetes or on perceived duration of colds for instances. In the end, Dr. Stein concludes, “At the moment, the best answer to the kindness contrarian is: Even …
Art explains medicine by explaining human needs. In December of 2015, Dr. Michael P. Jones wrote a piece that had 27K shares: “We’ve killed the way physicians should be.” It is interpreted that 27K readers or more identified with what Dr. Jones wrote.
In his essay, he claimed the identity of a physician was being “killed” by the reality of practice demands. The essay referenced an image of the …
“Hello? Hello, Mr. Bertsie. It’s Dr. Robey. I wanted to call you and check on you,” I said into the phone stopping my constant wrestling with papers and resting what was in my hands on my lap. Mr. Bertsie and I were meeting in the equinox.
“Oh, hello Doctor,” he said with a little relief, a little surprise, a little delight in his voice. “I’m doing OK. I walked the dog …
Dear medical student, resident, or fellow,
You will one day forget something. We are currently in a systematic plot to have everyone forget something important. We are quietly unaware it is happening. We are asked to forget how we got here. I want to remind you. I want us all to remember.
You undoubtably were more mature than your peers. You undoubtably sacrificed to develop the persona that one day would impress …
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