A Change in Perspective: was it the wine?
I was at church this past Sunday, after a particularly harrowing week at the hospital, spent trying not to get frustrated at patients and families that can’t see reality, and who think that I am holding back some magic medicine that will cure their family member. Now, I’m a positive person and can even be optimistic sometimes. But I hate beating a nearly dead horse and thinking it will change in to Seabiscuit.
In the church bulletin I was struck by three prayer requests: one was a request for prayer for a woman diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer who is now status post surgery,one for a patient in pain from a herniated disk, and the last for a patient that had a knee replacement.
“For God’s sake,” I though, wearing my hospital acquired cynicism like a suit of armor, “what the he** are they worrying about? That’s all minor stuff. I can’t believe they are so stressed out they put in a prayer request!”
But then something switched. Maybe it was the music, or the sermon, or the communion wine, but I lost my cynical coat. For those families, and the ones I met the past week, what they were going through was huge, significant and scary. It might not have felt that way to me, but to them, these were all huge crises, involving a loved one, and with unbelievable stress. Sometimes, I (we–admit you do it too!) forget what it is like on the other side of the bed, when something really horrific is going on, and it all seems so bewildering and unfriendly and sterile, and most of all, uncaring.
I will try to better, to use the other perspective of the patient and family as well as my crisp, efficient doctor perspective. I really do care, and I bet you do too.
God bless.
PS: I actually had the communion “grape juice.”
Tags: Communication, doctors, primary care
