May 2nd Year:
I walked into a patient room last week and was immediately grateful that I've learned how to conceal shock or surprise as a part of my profession. My patient was in a wheelchair but had no arms or legs. None. She was in her thirties, plain faced and blonde. She looked tired--sick. Three black straps across her torso held her into her chair. I'm not sure I'd ever seen someone with that exact disability and it affected me. "Can you imagine's" filled my head.
She was suffering from bronchitis and after I'd examined her we discussed treatment options. A handsome young man, probably also in his thirties, accompanied her. I had assumed that he was a friend or an aide or what not. She said, "I really want to get better soon. We're getting married in two weeks." She blushed and he smiled.
Some surprised delight must have been evident on my face as I enthusiastically responded, "Congratulations! That's wonderful."
I couldn't stop thinking about it all day. And it made me so happy.
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I had to call a male patient the other day and let him know that his tests had come up positive for chlamydia. As you probably know, this is a sexually transmitted infection, and really can't be caught in other ways.
The man was surprised when I told him this. "My wife and I don't have any other partners--there must be another way this can be contracted."
Crickets.
Can he put the pieces together? Don't make me be the one to say, "Maybe you should double check with your partner on that."
He had recently traveled abroad and so he asked, "Could it be caught in a public bath?"
I repeated the question aloud, while my co-resident, was working nearby. I happened to glance at her face and she smirked, having realized what we were talking about. Seeing her face nearly made me lose it. I've never come so close to laughing at such a terribly inappropriate time. I didn't. Again, the poker face is a hot commodity in medicine.
It can be hard to deliver news to patients--for many reasons--but especially when you're giving out a bitter pill.
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