tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post457964181083006592..comments2024-03-22T17:05:55.267-04:00Comments on MD Whistleblower: You Have Cancer! How to Deliver Bad News to Patients.Michael Kirsch, M.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07555280388086931097noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-17715663484403344102012-07-12T11:24:27.060-04:002012-07-12T11:24:27.060-04:00To me this is an unusual, but necessary blog for M...To me this is an unusual, but necessary blog for MD's to read... As a doctor and recent patient.. I am appalled at how little power a patient has over their future as a patient... There are technical things to question, if a patient dares, but there is a whole realm of uncertainty, that any sentient human being can engage on, in their quest for cure or palliation... Need to know the facts, apply the local culture, family understanding etc...Patients can know stuff that a doctor does not, and is essential for cooperation or rejection...Patient's must also "hear" what the MD or DO has to say, and then the input has to have time to percolate and be returned.. A ruptured appendix has a small time for consideration, a ruptured aorta, collapsed lung, a gunshot wound have even less.... The MD approach to gain trust is what this article is about... Needs lots of discussion at the Medical School Level, to make it work at the point of necessity.. Playing "god" no longer works... Talk to a Jehovag's Witness with a ruptured spleen!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-70143184893118448862012-07-07T15:08:35.211-04:002012-07-07T15:08:35.211-04:00Chrysalis, appreciate your thoughtful response. Y...Chrysalis, appreciate your thoughtful response. You've been there.Michael Kirsch, M.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07555280388086931097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-77597012048495923282012-07-06T09:01:06.627-04:002012-07-06T09:01:06.627-04:00I liked this post, Michael.
As one being on the e...I liked this post, Michael.<br /><br />As one being on the end of that kind of news, you want to feel that your physician cares about the news he/she is giving you-that they care about you as a person. And yes, you'd like to know that your team is in place.<br /><br />You want to know that your physician has set up the next steps for you, because from that moment on..you will be on auto pilot trying to digest what the whole thing means to you, physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. The last thing you want to worry about is who to contact, where to go and when.<br /><br />The best way to deliver the news is with true compassion, and honesty. You will have to gauge your patient's state as you go and act accordingly, as you do.<br /><br />My surgeon wouldn't even say the word "cancer" to me. I had to say it to him first. It was so difficult for him to look at me at 36 and tell me. I felt for him. Sometimes, your patients really will already know. I knew.<br /><br />It is a difficult thing on both sides. The best you can do is be one human being to another in that moment. Their lives will be forever altered, it deserves the time frame to do it with reverence.Chrysalis https://www.blogger.com/profile/00757696627388704079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-54134810444807501332012-06-27T02:28:00.677-04:002012-06-27T02:28:00.677-04:00This is so true. I have no idea if I deliver bad ...This is so true. I have no idea if I deliver bad news right or wrong. It is hard. You want to do it in person and never on the phone but when you tell a patient to come in their anxiety is sky high. What if they just ask on the phone...do you say "No, I want to see you in person". That is awkward and not helpful. Like you, I always try to have the plan arranged ahead so there is a next step. It is rather odd that we were never taught anything about delivering tough news. I hope the new doctors in training are getting a different education....Toni Brayer, MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15258759363309666629noreply@blogger.com