Dr Rob reminded me this week that patient encounters go beyond medicine. I once knew a sweet lady with locally recurrent breast cancer. My supervising surgeon was a teddy-bear of a man – like your favourite grandfather. At the end of dealing with her medical issues, I would fetch Mr Teddy-Bear, and he would always meet with her.
Surgeon enters room.
Sweet lady: Hello! A yellow tie! I could see you halfway up the corridor.
Mr Teddy Bear (grinning): A present from my son: a Father’s day gift. Helpful if there is a power outage – I won’t need a torch! What about you – are you still causing trouble?
SL: I’m fine. I make up problems so I can come and visit Cris. How are the girls? (referring to MrTB’s 13 year old twin daughter)
MrTB: Good. I played golf with them last weekend. Getting better.
SL: You or them? Wow. I don’t see how you find the time.
MrTB: I’m not sure, either. Keeps me tired, though. Any complaints for me?
SL: No, I just love your staff. They look after me. It’s a pleasure to have to come.
MrTB (shaking hands): Good. I’ll see you next week.
The conversations were always the same – ties, self-depreciating jokes and family talk. The barest, briefest mention of medicine. Mr TB demonstrated some of the advantages of being a consultant. Surgery can create long-term partnerships with patients. And when everyone understands what is going on, the relationship is all that matters.
Love this post!
That’s my favorite kind of story.
Yes, and my favourite kind of surgeon.