My blog represents my personal experiences and perspectives. This includes many anecdotes from my life and from my medical practice. I have been scrupulous to anonymize all medical anecdotes and to avoid ever belittling or making fun of patients. (I often make fun of and criticize myself, my colleagues, and the institutions where I have worked.)
I will never forget the quasi-humorous sign in the radiology reading room:
I’ll see it when I believe it.
Robert Burton, a former Chief of Neurology at Mount Zion Medical Center, explains it this way:
The trend of the last two decades toward patient-centered (or family-centered) medicine is unmistakable and and a very good thing. Unfortunately, it is often discussed in the abstract, which obscured the fact that no two patients are identical in their needs or desires. Kevin Pho’s recent discussion gets it right:
Whereas, on or about the night prior to Christmas, there did occur at a certain
improved piece of real property (hereinafter "the House") a general lack of
stirring by all creatures therein, including, but not limited to a mouse.
It could have been a big deal, but it wasn’t. Our appointment to discuss our options for diagnosing and treating a potential malignancy had been scheduled with the wrong interventional radiologist.
He came in every year for his physical right after tax season (he was an accountant), an event I learned to dread.
f you are silent in the face of evil, or acquiesce to what you know is wrong…
…you have sided with evil and are collaborating with the devil.
Every year, as winter approaches, I look forward to big snowstorms. Not just because I love Nordic skiing - though I do. Not just because the individually tiny flakes and their accumulation into deceptively gentle drifts are such a useful reminder of the importance of soft power. Not just because of the quiet, or the magic of moonlight glistening on fresh powder, or even the knowledge that the piles of snow against the foundation will help insulate the basement and protect our pipes.
I wished I hadn’t asked...
Gloria Steinem said: “The truth will set you free. But first it will piss you off.”
Based on my experience, telling the truth is more reliable at pissing others off than setting anyone free.
It always bothers me when patients seem less interested in focusing on their visit than I am.