T is for “Therapy.” . There are times when my patients come in and want to talk- not about their medical conditions, but about the struggles taking ahold of them in life. The doctor’s office can be a freeing place in that sense- a place where they can feel listened to. When you hear patients discuss doctors they really like, they hardly ever mention how a doctor got their diabetes under better control or switched them to the appropriate preventative medications- you hear- “they weren’t trying to rush out of the room,” or “they listened to me.” . I always feel so privileged when a patient I’ve seen a few times opens up to me about what they’ve been going through. (And some of them are REALLY going through it.) But I sometimes also feel conflicted. If you’ve been to a clinic, you know that the 20 minutes allotted to see a patient is barely enough. (I have 40 min, but in that time the patient has to be roomed, get their vitals checked, I have to see them and then staff with an attending, leaving just about 20 minutes for the appointment itself assuming the patient arrives on time.) And given that patients often have to undertake great measures to come to clinic, they seldom want to JUST talk about their feelings- they want medical care too. . . How do you guys balance these demands without alienating your patients? #hospital #patient #procreate #illustration #webcomic #clinic #resident #intern #pgy1 #medicine #inpatient #doctor #relatable #womeninmedicine #blackdoctors #graphicmedicine #premed #premedmotivation #im #residency #internyear #internalmedicine #medschool #medicine #medicalschool #medlife #md #medstudents
I.M. Resident only a little jaded.