When the doctor is a patient

 A few days prior to penning this post, I had an unexpected but valuable educational lesson.  The experience was brief but its effects are still lingering with me.

Not surprisingly, when a physician becomes a patient, he or she views the medical profession through a different lens. For instance, much of the medical advice that we doctors blithely dispense to patients, feels a little less casual when we doctors are on the receiving end.  Consider the following example.

Physician Dispensing Medical Advice:  So, it’s time for your yearly labs.  I see that you are due for your colonoscopy, so I’ll arrange this. And, are you ready to get that hernia fixed?

Physician Receiving Medical Advice: So, it’s time for your yearly labs.  I see that you are due for your colonoscopy, so I’ll arrange this. And, are you ready to get that hernia fixed?

I’ll let my discerning readers decide which of the above scenarios is easier on the doctor. 

Time for your bone marrow biopsy, doc.

The same test you've ordered hundreds of times!

I was scheduled for a routine vascular ultrasound exam recommended by my doctor to screen for an aortic aneurysm. I have been fortunate to enjoy the blessings of good health and have had just a handful of testing over the years.  But after I have completed any test – a colonoscopy, routine labs or a cardiac echo – I am not entirely at ease until the results are available.  In other words, as a patient, I have the same anxiety regarding pending results that my own patients have.

The able ultrasound tech placed the probe on my abdomen as he proceeded to examine my aorta.  I had naively thought that this would be a 5-minute exam.  How long should it take to determine if my aorta has a bulging contour?  The exam, which apparently also surveyed other blood vessels, lasted about 30 minutes.

What was taking so long?

Is everything ok?

Why does he look so serious?

Since my medical institution operates at a preternatural level of efficiency, the results were available on the portal 2 hours later.  Normal!  While I expected this result, it was still a relief to know the result for certain.  We all know that life can change in an instant.  Physicians in particular are witnesses to these jarring episodes regularly.  Gastroenterologists see this when we discover a colon cancer in patient who feels perfectly well and is undergoing a routine screening colonoscopy.

Each week, a couple dozen of my patients have pending lab and biopsy results waiting to be finalized.  I surmise that a significant number of them are anxious as they wait, particularly those who have had biopsies taken.  I try to communicate all of these results to patients on the day that I receive them.  While it may seem reasonable to delay notifying a patient of a benign result or normal lab results until the following day or after the weekend, but this may unnecessarily prolong a patient’s nervousness.  I think that we physicians should inform a patient of test results at the time that we would want to be notified if we were the patient.

While physicians assuming the role of patients is not a formal feature of medical training, at least it wasn't in my case, when it does occur, the educational value is invaluable. 

Editor’s Note: For 16 years, I've published weekly essays here on Blogspot, which will continue. I’ve now begun publishing my work on a new blogging platform, Substack, and I hope you’ll join me there. Please enter your email address at this link to receive my posts directly to your inbox.