I know. Switching doctors is about the last thing you want to do when you’re seriously ill. You’re weak, you’re scared, and you’re short of time. Also, how do you know the next physician will be an improvement?
So it’s not a task you should undertake if your grievances are minor — and by “minor” I [...]
Since I’m a regular volunteer at the Community Hospice of Washington DC — and a lot of people I know wonder why I would devote most Friday mornings to tasks they consider “totally depressing” (to quote one of my best friends) — I think I’m in a fairly good position to explain a bit about [...]
Almost as bad as an incompetent doctor, is the one who handles bad news even worse than the patient.
Let’s face it, most doctors and nurses just don’t want to discuss dying. So here’s what usually happens: the patient gets an unhappy diagnosis, then a lot of mumbling spiced with incomprehensible medical jargon, then leaves the office, and [...]
“Patients get about 18 seconds to tell a doctor their concerns before being interrupted,” Richard Frankel tells me. Frankel is a professor of medicine and geriatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, and he has studied the amount of time allotted to a patient’s complaints.
As the author of “Four Habits of Highly Effective Clinicians,” Frankel is [...]
It’s important for anyone who receives an unhappy diagnosis to realize that although the phrase ”terminal illness” isn’t exactly a mood-enhancer, it also doesn’t necessarily signal a future of bad pain. Pancreatic cancer patients, for example, often experience no pain.
But for those of you who are experiencing pain — or are friends or relatives of those who may be [...]
Dear Readers –
For those of you wondering why your doctor — or a dying relative’s or friend’s doctor — isn’t treating patients as reasonable adults, the AP just came out with a terrific story on the subject.
Please remember: all of us are consumers. We need to demand from medical personnel the same kind straight talk and [...]
I can’t stress this strongly enough: Whenever you are about to discuss bad news with medical personnel, make certain you have someone along with you — someone rational who comes equipped with a notepad and an excellent memory. Don’t leave home without this person.
Why? Because however intelligent you are, however stoic and philosophical, [...]
Dear Judy,
My father, who is 81, has congestive heart failure and is quite weak. His doctors (there are three of them!) tell me he isn’t going to be with us long, and I am devastated. Even worse –most of his life he was an exceptionally healthy guy: smart, funny, energetic and very loving. We had [...]
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Posted on January 24th, 2009