Date of Medical Observation
February 2006
Narration:
It was Saturday night, the ER was jam-packed with patients. All beds were occupied, We had 4 patients
with appendicitis waiting to be operated on, 2 referrals from other departments and a handful of trauma patients.
Narration:
The Clerks were all
busy attending to the needs of their respective patients. My seniors were at the OR so I was
the only resident manning the ER.
Narration:
Then there was this
intern from Family Medicine who referred to me a 45-y/o female complaining of a RUQ abdominal pain.
Narration:
The patient claimed
that she was suffering from this abdominal pain for a couple of weeks now. Taking pain reliever which afforded
her temporary relief.
Narration:
She handed me an envelop containing a result form of HBT
UTZ. As I read the result, I noted the Intra and extrahepatic ducts were not dilated.
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Narration:
The gallbladder wall was not thickened
and there was hyperechoic shadowing from the gallbladder. The impression was cholecystolithiasis.
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Narration:
The patient was from
Paranaque.
She was brought by a police officer( in uniform) who happened to be her husband. So after completing
the patients history and PE I explained to them the patient’s situation.
Narration:
I told her that she
has stone in her gallbladder and that she will be needing an operation. I also explained that the
operation is not going to be an emergency case, meaning she doesn’t have to be admitted right away.
Narration:
We are going to attend
to her symptoms then she will be discharged when the pain resolves. We’re going to schedule her for
an elective operation and to be notified through a phonecall.
Narration:
But before I was able to finish my explanation the husband suddenly went on outburst.
He insisted that the patient should be admitted.
Narration:
“pinagloloko nyo naman kme!
Mamamatay na ang pasyente ayaw nyo pa tanggapin!
He yelled at me pointing his finger in front of my face. Bka
gusto mo makarating ito kay Mayor? He
added angrily.
Narration:
At this point in time
I struggled to explain again and again the situation but he never listened. He continued to yell at me until I lost my temper
so we ended up shouting at each other.
Narration:
After our heated argument
he took the patient with him and leave. I reported the incident to my seniors
afterwards.
INSIGHTS
(Physical, psycho-social, ethical)
(Discovery,
STIMULUS, Reinforcement)
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Having this kind of profession, its not once or twice that we will encounter such
a situation. The question is.. “How are we going to manage ourselves when one
of these comes?”
We might say..
just ignore those psychotic and inconsiderate third parties who are after all has nothing to do with
our relationship with our patient.
Pretty much easy to say.. Yet when things happen and you
catch yourself in such situations you’ll then come to realize that not all
doctors have halo above their heads. We’re no martyrs nor saints.
This is the sad part
of our profession. Having no one to blame if something wrong happens but just ourselves.
I must admit, I found
myself guilty after the incident. I should not have done what I did. I became
unprofessional in the eyes of everybody.
May be I just have to
recognize my shortcomings.. I really have much things to learn.
To be
full pledged doctors by profession is not just knowing how to diagnose and treat illnesses but more importantly
to be and act as a real professional in front of the patients.
THANK YOU!
