Coda to The New Patient
Thanks to Tundra Medicine Dreams for including a post of mine in this week's Grand Rounds. There's a funny postscript to it.
After posting, I read both the original post (at Ripple of Hope) and my answer out loud to my son, age 17. He scowled, and with no irony or sarcasm at all he blurted out, "That sounds like a relationship."
Me: "Yeah. It is. They call it the Doctor-Patient Relationship for a reason, you know."
Him: "No; I mean a real relationship."
Whatever. (Exit: to school)
Obviously it is a real relationship. And just like a relationship with a lawyer, accountant, car mechanic or hairdresser, we seek out people we can trust, with whom we can communicate, who we can get ahold of when we need them. Most folks are thrilled to find a doctor they can relate to, but what's the first thing you look for when you move to a new community? Car mechanic and hairdresser usually come even before doctors. All good relationships are priceless.
posted by #1 Dinosaur @ 4:00 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Amen.
"Most folks are thrilled to find a doctor they can relate to, but what's the first thing you look for when you move to a new community? Car mechanic and hairdresser usually come even before doctors."
I think priorities make a difference, and also age ... which helps set those very priorities ...
An older person, or a chronically ill person, will probably not only look for a doctor first, they may even look for a doctor and a hospital before they move into an area, they may even use what they find as a criterion of whether they'll choose to move to that area or not.
As a younger, healthier woman, I would have been delighted to put myself in the middle of nowhere ... now I not only want a hospital nearby, I also want a good selection of generalists and specialists.
Younger people, healthier people, think more about what they think they're most likely to need - as you said, mechanics ... hairdressers ... but there's no age for catastrophic illness, so - a bit of wisdom ... *blink!*
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