Farewell Gratitude

My motto ever since I started practicing has been: treat the patient how I would like to be treated. To me it’s a reminder to listen to the patient, attempt to get an understanding of their problem, and then make a diagnosis, instead of just labeling them from the start. It’s a rule I’ve stuck by and tends to work well for me, although occasionally leads to some prolonged consultations. Never mind.

Today, the magnitude of the motto, came to fruition. One of my dearest patients, someone whom I’ve come to know quite well over the last 15 months, came in for her last consultation before moving to Australia. She was someone labeled as a time consumer. She even had a warning that popped up on the computer stating this fact when I pulled up her electronic file. (Something I promptly removed.) During our first consultation she asked me if I knew about a particular disease. Accessing the archived medical school files, I said yes, although admitted that I could not lecture on the specifics of the diagnosis. Her response, “Great, you are my new doctor.” Admittedly, our first few consults did take longer then usual. Somehow in those first 12 months I convinced her to change one of her medicines around to help control her diabetes. Unbeknownst to me, it completely alleviated the severe muscle pain she’d been having for several years. While still somewhat deconditioned from her other disorder, she suddenly had a new lease on life. So when she came in to say goodbye on Friday, informing me that she was going to help her husband run a courier business in Australia, something that seemed out of reach given that the smallest movements used to make her wince in pain, all I could do was smile. Don’t get me wrong, I claim no credit at all for this medical miracle. It was purely a fortunate side effect in my book. Yet to the patient it was the greatest gift I could have ever given her. All I did was listen to her, understand where she was coming from, and attempt to control a disease process the best way I knew how.

The irony is that for someone who originally was one of my longest consults, but the end she became one of my quickest. Yes, we still ran overtime, but usually because we were socializing, not analyzing her medical problems. I guess my mom was right, always listen more then you talk and you’ll come out ahead every time.