I love finding one of your essays in my email. This is a fascinating look at what it means to be oriented. Clearly he was oriented to the place he was. I love the way you are reframing medical care.
Taking the time for your patients is a rare event in medicine. What a lovely story. I’ve read your book and encourage people to read it. It’s so clarifying and true and it shows how systems and people interact for good or ill. It’s a road to follow.
Terry, thank you for taking the time to read my writing and Consented. I hope the speculative fiction part gave you a little uplift like it did me! If you haven't already, I would be deeply appreciative if you could take a few minutes to write a review for it on Amazon or Goodreads! Thank you. <3
Once I saw a pain management doctor who said, “I can’t do anything for you because your records say that the epidural injection didn’t work.” I told her, “it worked the first time. But it didn’t work the second time, because they messed it up. They didn’t give me enough local anesthetic.” She ignored what I had just said and just absentmindedly repeated herself, “yes, it didn’t work, so there’s nothing more I can do for you.” She was in such a big hurry and I didn’t know why. It was the first and last time I saw her. Thankfully I found much better pain management professionals after that. Thank you for what you are advocating for - humanizing the medical field and listening deeply to patients. It matters so much. ❤️❤️❤️
Yes, thank you! I ended up finding the Curable app for chronic pain which was so much better than any injection and has helped me find significant relief by rewiring my brain. I live a full life now and can work full time, bike, and even do orange theory workouts. So grateful!
Use your sense of humor to your advantage. Once a troll called me on the phone, and I told him how delighted I was he had called and that his wife had promised me he would call and I loved hearing his voice and I heard it was his birthday. He hung up on me. It felt good to fight back against the spam callers and troll system. Maybe if you fax ten people's diplomas, not just your own, the trolling from the agents will stop. Fax yours, your pharmacist's, your professor's, his department chair's, etc. If enough of your colleagues do this, the trolls will eventually stop using that troll tactic. Will they try to find other tactics? You bet ya, but you will have stopped them once, the way I stopped that troll 5 years ago.
Maybe I'll send my fellowship diploma, my pharmacist's diploma, my professor's diploma, and a certificate proving I once won a middle-school science fair!
I know what you meant in your video story today. When I encounter someone spewing stinky vibes and humiliations at me, just to try to stop me from doing my job, it leaves me with such a bad taste in my mouth that I need a morale boost, too. Maybe next time, close the door and belt out at the top of your lungs a spiritual that was sung by slaves who had to deal with BS and humiliations from dumb white slaveowners all day long. Eg in the "Walkin up to Freedom" song, I'd replace the lyrics with something like "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around, turn me around, turn me around, making pts better, making pts better, riding past the bs wave" Or replace "nobody" with "bogus tactics" Singing is a stress reliever.
While I agree that, fundamentally, we must be willing as physicians to examine our interactions with patients at every level - particularly our learned senses of entitlement - in the era of “managed care,” it is our responsibility to teach our patients how to mutually best speak to us as well in the limited time we have available for us to interact. I am a doctor & the best primary care doctor I ever had, in taking me on as a new patient, taught me exactly what to tell her in order for her to best help me be as healthy as possible, beginning with the first sentence: “What brings you here today?” Outside of psychiatry, the application of the term “poor historian” emanates from not being able to accurately articulate why you came to the doctor ( I.e. what the problem is); when it began; what are the symptoms you are experiencing; has it happened before, and so on. You have already written about the reasons patients are not open & frank, so part of the process of education is making new patients feel safe & assured in sharing in our presence, we proceed from there. I make it a point in the first session with any new patient to interview one another for compatibility. On a rare occasion, we determine it won’t work, & I refer them. In my mind, this “outside the box.”
I love finding one of your essays in my email. This is a fascinating look at what it means to be oriented. Clearly he was oriented to the place he was. I love the way you are reframing medical care.
He was oriented to the place he was and if we gave him time, more! Thank you for your kind words Nancy.
Taking the time for your patients is a rare event in medicine. What a lovely story. I’ve read your book and encourage people to read it. It’s so clarifying and true and it shows how systems and people interact for good or ill. It’s a road to follow.
Terry, thank you for taking the time to read my writing and Consented. I hope the speculative fiction part gave you a little uplift like it did me! If you haven't already, I would be deeply appreciative if you could take a few minutes to write a review for it on Amazon or Goodreads! Thank you. <3
I am always overjoyed to see your pieces. I read them in the morning and they lift me up all day, even in these dark times.
Kurt, thank you for reading what I write. It’s truly an honor.
Once I saw a pain management doctor who said, “I can’t do anything for you because your records say that the epidural injection didn’t work.” I told her, “it worked the first time. But it didn’t work the second time, because they messed it up. They didn’t give me enough local anesthetic.” She ignored what I had just said and just absentmindedly repeated herself, “yes, it didn’t work, so there’s nothing more I can do for you.” She was in such a big hurry and I didn’t know why. It was the first and last time I saw her. Thankfully I found much better pain management professionals after that. Thank you for what you are advocating for - humanizing the medical field and listening deeply to patients. It matters so much. ❤️❤️❤️
Nothing like hearing from someone who is supposed to help "nothing left to do." I am glad you found someone who could help in the end. <3
Yes, thank you! I ended up finding the Curable app for chronic pain which was so much better than any injection and has helped me find significant relief by rewiring my brain. I live a full life now and can work full time, bike, and even do orange theory workouts. So grateful!
Use your sense of humor to your advantage. Once a troll called me on the phone, and I told him how delighted I was he had called and that his wife had promised me he would call and I loved hearing his voice and I heard it was his birthday. He hung up on me. It felt good to fight back against the spam callers and troll system. Maybe if you fax ten people's diplomas, not just your own, the trolling from the agents will stop. Fax yours, your pharmacist's, your professor's, his department chair's, etc. If enough of your colleagues do this, the trolls will eventually stop using that troll tactic. Will they try to find other tactics? You bet ya, but you will have stopped them once, the way I stopped that troll 5 years ago.
Maybe I'll send my fellowship diploma, my pharmacist's diploma, my professor's diploma, and a certificate proving I once won a middle-school science fair!
I know what you meant in your video story today. When I encounter someone spewing stinky vibes and humiliations at me, just to try to stop me from doing my job, it leaves me with such a bad taste in my mouth that I need a morale boost, too. Maybe next time, close the door and belt out at the top of your lungs a spiritual that was sung by slaves who had to deal with BS and humiliations from dumb white slaveowners all day long. Eg in the "Walkin up to Freedom" song, I'd replace the lyrics with something like "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around, turn me around, turn me around, making pts better, making pts better, riding past the bs wave" Or replace "nobody" with "bogus tactics" Singing is a stress reliever.
I think you are one of the best writers in medicine. I think you so accurately tell my story of being a doctor. It's so beautiful. Thank you so much.
Thank you for your kind words!
Very beautiful, thank you.
Thank you for reading!
Beautifully captured.
While I agree that, fundamentally, we must be willing as physicians to examine our interactions with patients at every level - particularly our learned senses of entitlement - in the era of “managed care,” it is our responsibility to teach our patients how to mutually best speak to us as well in the limited time we have available for us to interact. I am a doctor & the best primary care doctor I ever had, in taking me on as a new patient, taught me exactly what to tell her in order for her to best help me be as healthy as possible, beginning with the first sentence: “What brings you here today?” Outside of psychiatry, the application of the term “poor historian” emanates from not being able to accurately articulate why you came to the doctor ( I.e. what the problem is); when it began; what are the symptoms you are experiencing; has it happened before, and so on. You have already written about the reasons patients are not open & frank, so part of the process of education is making new patients feel safe & assured in sharing in our presence, we proceed from there. I make it a point in the first session with any new patient to interview one another for compatibility. On a rare occasion, we determine it won’t work, & I refer them. In my mind, this “outside the box.”