A Patient’s
Perspective
Introduction
I am writing
this in “blog” type format to help effectively communicate how one patient saw
things from “the other side,” during a 4 day admission in November and an 8 day admission in September to Good Samaritan
Medical Center Unit 2C. I will be writing both negative (complaints) and
positive (compliments) perceptions about incidents, level of care and those who
went above and beyond their call of duty. I think that in writing my
perspective about all these people I am learning that respect goes a long way –
on behalf of the patient to nurse/doctor and the nurse/doctor to patient.
Chapter One: Mary B
Chapter Two: Amy
Chapter Three: Karen
Chapter 4: Carolyn
Chapter 5: Charlene
Chapter 6: Maggie
Chapter 7: Sam
Chapter 8: Dr. P
Chapter 9: Julianne
Chapter 10: Dr.K
A Patient’s Perspective #1:
2C Mary B: Sneaky, impatient, manipulative,
capable, competent, experienced, untrustworthy, poor-judgment, lack of insight or refusal to try, condescending, provided only
adequate care, accessible, indifferent, unhappy.
It was a
Tuesday, it was my birthday, Mary B was assigned to be my first shift nurse. I
had only slept one stinking hour when suddenly Mary, a couple of lab people to
draw blood and the nursing assistant were all in my room demanding something
from me. I need to stick you again for
blood even though we were here two hours ago…I need to get your blood sugar and
vitals right now!....You need to wake up…you need to eat….you need to take your
medications…etc…. I truly have ADHD and this was just too overwhelming at
such an early hour for me. I am not exactly a morning person either. Everyone
got aggravated with my slow response time and I ended up completely shutting
down and no one got what they wanted from me at that particular time.
I cried
intermittently during her whole shift, yet not once did she ask me why. Throughout
the morning, (after taking my adhd meds and drinking coffee), I calmed down and
was able to focus and everyone eventually got what they needed from me.
Even though I
woke up cranky, I thought I was respectful to her. I thought she didn’t have a
problem with me. I thought wrong! I
found out what she really thought of me and her opinion of the shift and my
actions during it, when she gave report to my 2nd shift nurse, right
outside my door. FYI: I am not old,
stupid or deaf! She must have forgot.
I found her
unprofessionalism surprising coming from such an experienced, competent,
adequate nurse whom is capable of extraordinary care (that I didn’t receive).
What she told and how she gave report was astoundingly beguiling and remarkably
misleading as she decidedly exaggerated the course of the day and her
interpretation of my behavior. I found her mendacious words very hurtful. I got
quite upset. My heart stung as I was dismayed that my next nurse was getting
such a misconstrued picture of me. I felt dejected, humiliated, disappointed
and alone. I will never be able to trust her again.
From a Patient’s Perspective: Report
should be given in private. Nurses should stick to facts and not pass-along
opinions.
A Patient’s Perspective #2:
2C Amy: Patient,
professional, understanding, respectful, attentive, dedicated, supportive,
newcomer, learning, genuine, smart, empathetic, thoughtful, calm, perceptive.
Amy was my first
nurse upon my 2nd admission in November. She was new to the
hospital/unit and she didn’t know me or anything about my September admission.
She was a clean slate for me. I asked her if she drew the short straw when it
came to my admission, she didn’t understand my comment and that was a good
thing. Aside from my sugar crashing several times that night, it was uneventful
and my behavior stayed under control. She had no reason to believe I was a difficult
patient. Two things about Amy stood out for me.
The first thing
that I observed was that it was not below her to ask for help. I really
respected that. My health problems were complicated and unique and she would
request assistance or a second opinion. I liked that about her. She knew her
limitations and scope of experience and instead of being arrogant and
undertaking something that could have harmed me, she unpretentiously let a more
experienced nurse (Karen) take care of my pressing needs, who also knew me and
my medical history. Even though Amy was
a “rookie” to the hospital, I was never afraid to have her as my nurse because
I ascertained that she would ask for support if needed.
The second thing
that captured my attention was her compassion. She was perceptive enough the 2nd
night to notice that I was miserably quiet and repetitively attempting to avoid
her. She asked me what was weighing so heavily on my mind and I told her that I
had overheard report given outside my door. She immediately understood
distress. I expressed my thoughts and
feelings about it and she agreed with me. I told her that she spoke quietly and
I did not hear her response. She said she didn’t really respond to Mary’s
complaints and was a bit confused as Mary was describing a different patient
that Amy had met the night before. So
Amy ASKED me about each accusation Mary alleged and after illuminating her on
what happened and what I was thinking and feeling during the shift Amy found my
explanations more logical than Mary’s opinions and she didn’t hold anything
Mary said against me. Mary B never asked
me the question “why?”, so it felt edifying when Amy showed that she was
curious about my situation and cared that I was upset it. After talking to Amy
and straightening out the misconceived report I was able to let that go and not
stress or be anxious about it again
From a Patient’s Perspective: Just asking a patient what is upsetting them
makes all the difference in the world.
A Patient’s Perspective #3:
2C Karen: Competent, knowledgeable, smart, respectful, kind,
strict, direct, funny, friendly,
compassionate,
attentive, insightful, practical, logical, resourceful, selfless, dedicated.
I am not easily
impressed. It takes a lot. But what does impress me is when I can easily
recognize (and appreciate) unsolicited acts of kindness. Karen has managed to
impress me on more than one occasion and if you knew me – you would know – that
says a lot! On November 4th (my birthday), if I was having an issue, whether
blood pressure, blood sugar, medication, behavioral, or blown IVs – she was
right there for me. Oh – did I mention she wasn’t even my assigned nurse that
night? Not only did she have her own patients to take care of, she made sure I
was taken care of too. I was having a particularly emotional day and after 3
blown IVs, countless blood sugar finger pricks, 2 unsuccessful blood draws, 7
successful blood draws and FIVE unsuccessful IV attempts (those hurt btw) in
less than the 30 hours I had been at Good Sam, I was wearing very thin. My
arms, hands and fingers were swollen, battered and bruised. So when that last (3rd) vein blew, I just
broke down. Karen took the extra effort and compassionately and successfully
picked up my broken soul. And because of the looming shift change – she could
have easily passed me off to the next shift, but she didn’t. She took care of
her own patients first and then, as promised, she came back to me. She took my
invisible, hiding, virtually nonexistent veins as a challenge – despite the IV
Specialists proclamation that I had no more places for an IV and he took my
LAST viable one. But Karen used her
relentless determination, experience, and intelligence and found a tiny little
thumb vein. I was skeptical at first,
but the outcome = success! J
The woman is brilliant. She wrapped, braced, and taped the IV so that it would
feel comfortable for me without me bending or pulling at it, essentially
eliminating and definitely significantly reducing the chance of me accidently
damaging the line (on a side note – this thumb iv of hers – lasted until I was
discharged 3 days later). Before giving report she attended to all my blown and
swollen veins. THEN not only did she make sure all my physical and medical
needs were met, on her way out the door as she was going home for the night,
she stopped at my door to say good night, making sure I was ok. Amazing. Not
many nurses would even think to check on me after their grueling, challenging
shift was over, never mind actually taking the time, that extra minute and a
half to stop and say “Good night – see you tomorrow!”
From a Patient’s Perspective: Nurses like Karen deserve recognition and a
raise!
A Patient’s Perspective #4:
2C Carolyn: Awesome,
nurturing, protective, caring, patient, witty, amicable, dedicated,
hard-working, genuine, funny, amusing, perceptive, insightful
3rd
shift is especially difficult for me. Hospitals at night are creepily quiet
enough that you can hear all sorts of strange and unfamiliar noises and I can’t
seem to filter out any of them. I hear them all! I also have trouble sleeping
at night – probably because I have been in a hospital bed resting all day (not
a normal activity for me) so even after taking medications for sleep, I am not
even close to falling asleep, regardless of how tired I get. I just toss and turn to no avail. And in this eerie stillness you call 3rd
shift, it sometimes gets a little lonely and I get a little anxious as the
hours of darkness seem to tick ever so slowly.
Carolyn, for three
out of the four nights I was admitted, had enough insight to recognize my
plight and the willingness (that is key) to do something about it. So instead
of standing in the hallway or sitting behind the nurses station to do whatever
nurses do – she would bring her computer into my room to do her work so that I
didn’t have to be alone. She would listen to my endless chatter (really
listened because she would remember what I said that next night – quoting me
nearly word for word :-0) or would just be there so I could rest.
The first night
I was there, I was very restless and worried about my blood sugars dropping too
low. She selflessly took her break in my room! I felt special (in a good way).
Carolyn makes me feel safe. I can’t say that about too many people. I can
acknowledge that I was extremely fortunate to have her as my 3rd
shift nurse my first 3 nights. 3rd shift nurses, anywhere, who
possess awesomeness like Carolyn are rare.
From a Patient’s Perspective: Just a little extra attention goes a long
way. 3rd shift needs more people like Carolyn who realize just
because it is dark out and most patients are sleeping, there are some of us
that still benefit from a little extra time spent with a caring nurse who can
ease a lot of night time anxiety.
2C Charlene: Mean, neglectful,
holds grudges, judgmental, sanctimonious, emotional, inattentive, uncaring,
inconsiderate.
3rd
shift is especially difficult for me, and I think more so now, after having
Charlene as my nurse. Charlene was the one that actually was my first nurse
when I was admitted in the wee hours of the shadowy morning during my September
admission, and I thought she was very nice at that time. She was pleasant and
accommodating, and when my sugars surprisingly crashed to 22 (as I seemed to be
fully alert) she promptly took care of the problem without panic and helped me
raise my blood sugars back to the normal range. But that was before she
discovered from rumors or distant observation that I was a “difficult patient.”
Six days later I
was having a restless evening and a particular difficult time. The assistant
was giving me a hard time and we had a small altercation as Charlene was coming
on to the shift. Maggie was my 2nd shift nurse and we talked about
who was coming on to 3rd shift and I even had REQUESTED Charlene, as
she was good to me that first night. I had been waiting until 3rd
shift to take my last sleep med (it makes me faint if I get up during the night
so I wait until the last minute to take it). With the assistant, Kayla,
stressing me out, I also asked for an Ativan to calm me down, Maggie came over
to me and said that she couldn’t give me the Ativan because the shift had
changed but she said she would pass my medication requests to Charlene and
after report I would get them, so she asked me if I could wait until 11:20ish
for my meds, and I said that yes I could wait. I went back into my room and
waited. And waited. And waited. I also felt asthmatic and needed her to call respiratory
to come up to give me a breathing treatment. She came into the room around
12:15ish and took my roommate and quickly and clandestinely moved her to
another room. I was confused on what was going on and when I asked her why my
roommate was moving she never answered me. I never had the chance to ask her
for my meds and tell her I was struggling to breathe. I THOUGHT after moving my
roommate for unknown reasons, she was going to come back and give me my
medications. She did not. I was beginning to panic. I felt scared,
disheartened, abandoned and alone as I clutched to my pillow. It was getting undeniably late. I got
noticeably distressed and despondent. I pressed the red button at least 5 times
between 11:30 and 12:45 but nobody came, I was rejected by the whole
staff.
I finally called
respiratory myself. Apparently this is not common practice. Usually
professionally competent nurses call for the patients because they are
cognizant that the person under their care is in need of medical assistance. I
was quite distraught by the time respiratory came up; I told him that I had
been submissively waiting for Charlene all night! He didn’t even have to listen
to my lungs as he could hear the wheezing in my voice as I spoke to him. Nevertheless
he did listen to my lungs and couldn’t hear any air moving in my lower lungs. He
asked me why I waited so long; that I should have had a breathing treatment
hours before. I told him I had been anticipating my nurse’s presence since
shift change, but she never came. This considerably pissed off the respiratory
guy. After giving me my breathing treatment he expressed his distress to my
neglectful nurse and told her I needed that treatment sooner and that I was
waiting on my meds and that no one was answering my call button. She FINALLY
came in with my medications at 1:25am but only because there was a witness. I
honestly believe she would have NEVER come in to my room if he hadn’t conveyed
his concerns. When I asked her why she hadn’t come in to give me my meds she
said that it was because I was acting up earlier and I didn’t deserve any attention. After giving me my meds she never
came back that night. About 45 minutes later as I was falling asleep my heart
starting racing, Kayla actually answered my call light and took my vitals. My
blood pressure was ok but I was running a low grade temp and my heart rate was
153! Earlier that night I had two EKGS so I was concerned about my heart rate
being so high. Kayla told Charlene, but Charlene never reported it to the
doctor nor did she pass it along in report. Nor was Kayla allowed to check my
vitals again that night. During my November admission, every evening I begged
my second shift nurse NOT to let Charlene have me again. I was afraid, and
pretty confident that she would still be holding onto that grudge. I was
fearful that if something happened during the night, I wouldn’t get any help.
Again.
From a Patient’s Perspective: Nurses need to take care of ALL their
patients regardless of if they like them or not. Nurses like Charlene should be
fired.
A Patient’s Perspective #6:
2C Maggie: Passionate,
patient, productive, professional, funny, understanding, respectful, informative,
dedicated, thorough, reliable, supportive, genuine, advocator.
This is my
second stint and adventure to 2C in the past 3 months. Maggie was not one of my
assigned nurses this last November admission, however, when I was admitted in
September she was my 2nd shift nurse on many occasions. During my
admission in September, while waiting on my sugars to stabilize and awaiting
results from testing, my behavior was – let’s say – less than acceptable. I was
a difficult patient and a patient having a difficult time. Security was called
on me 4 times and most nurses did not want to take me on. And on one occasion, a nurse, Marie, got so
flustered with me that she literally quit taking care of me. She left my room
and never returned. So Maggie (and Karen) stepped up to the plate and took me
on. When people engage in acts of kindness when they don’t have to – it leaves
a lasting impression on me. Not only did Maggie “just” take care of my medical
needs, she did it with unprecedented kindheartedness and thoughtfulness. I
instantly liked her.
Maggie often
wears her heart on her sleeve. I’ve seen it. It is an exceptionally marvelous,
compassionate heart. When others were
getting ruffled and frustrated with me because they couldn’t or wouldn’t
understand me or what I needed, Maggie treated me with respect, listened to my
words, saw my true heart and always, always walked into my room with a smile. I
am not exactly sure how she did it, but Maggie tamed me. She kept me under
control. My behavior improved on her shifts, though not perfect, I was at the
very least copacetic. The longer I was there, the more restless I grew and my
need to wander became harder to control so we had an agreement that I could
walk around and leave my room but I had to at least stay in her peripheral view
and never leave the unit. This seemed to work for us.
A particular
issue arose with my first discharge date, where the doctor had left and I had a
myriad of questions revolving my discharge plans. Maggie called the doctor and
she let me talk to him on the phone but that just made things worse for me. I
was still nervous about leaving without a plan. With much trepidation I began
to pack waiting for Maggie to return with my discharge papers to sign. Then
Maggie, an angel of God that night, came back in, and unbeknownst to me had
been advocating for me all the while I was stressing out. My discharge was
ultimately postponed, and I was assigned a new doctor with promises of him
meeting with me the next day to discuss my discharge and figuring out a plan
together. My tense muscles suddenly relaxed. I was so overwhelmed by Maggie’s
genuine concern and care for me that I (this hardly ever happens) I was
rendered speechless. She let me hug her.
I ended up staying 3 more nights while having tests done and Maggie
never wavered in her reverential approach and if she ever got exasperated with
me or my actions, she never showed it.
I honestly felt
and still feel that Maggie sincerely likes me, but not just as a patient but as
a person, an individual. She could always make me smile and if I started
pushing boundaries with my behavior, she would gently, patiently,
compassionately redirect me and I always accepted her redirection because I
genuinely like and respect her.
From a Patient’s Perspective: Other nurses should model Maggie’s approach
in dealing with difficult patients.
A Patient’s Perspective #7:
2C/B Float Sam: Calm,
intelligent, motivated, observant, kind, sensitive, curious, courteous, gentle,
insightful, bright, attentive, determined, resourceful, efficacious, good
listener, considerate, respectful.
After waking up
to pandemonium the previous day, my 2nd morning I was pleasantly
surprised to wake up to a ray of sunshine. My nurse was calm and never demanded
anything from me. I was automatically cooperative and compliant with anything
she asked. She kept me composed. Not once did I cry on her shift. She made sure
all my needs were met by the disinterested, medically useless doctor I had
acquired. I am telling you – nurses are on the front lines. My doctor had no
interest in diagnosing or even having an opinion about my medical status. The
doctor had consulted my endocrinologist and she let her call the shots without
any data. But Sam made sure I had everything I needed from that doctor for not
just her shift but all the others too.
Sam was also a
floater. She just had floated over to 2C and seemed to like it there. I am not
sure how she was with her other patient’s but she spent quality time with me.
When she was in my room, she was focused on my needs, never distracted, never
rushed. She quickly learned my preferences and respected them. She figured out
I wasn’t a morning person and let me sleep. She knew I thought about everything
all the time and let herself be a sounding board for me. She had my shower ready for me before I asked.
She learned that I was going to bed really late and passed on to my 2nd
shift nurse to give me my meds early the night before discharge. She would
automatically come in with a fresh diet ginger ale (I don’t like warm drinks –
but I don’t think I actually told her that) without me asking. Because I had a
negative experience with my first shift nurse my first day, I worried about who
would be my nurse the next morning, and every day at the end of her shift Sam
would say “If they need someone to float over here again, I will definitely
volunteer to come back.” To me, that was saying, she got along with the other
nurses on the unit, she felt comfortable there AND she wanted to be my nurse
again the next day. WANTED TO. If I was such an abominable, pertinacious
patient, she wouldn’t have offered to come back 3 days in a row!
I also have this
really cool contraption called a CGM (continuous glucose monitor). I wear a
transmitter that is connected to a sensor that sits just under my skin, and
that transmitter sends this cute little receiver my blood sugar levels from the
sensor every 5 minutes. Not one nurse I had knew about CGMs, how they worked
etc. Even I hadn’t had the device very long, and was having difficulties with
the sensor insertion process. Even though most of my nurses used the CGM as a
tool (as I could tell them when my sugars were crashing or if they were
remaining stable), they were still all just learning. On November 4th,
my day from Hell, not only did my veins shut down or blow up – my sensor fell
off me. I was just walking across the room and it fell off. I was too tired to
focus on replacing the sensor correctly. But the next morning, Sam, who was
intrigued and fascinated with this fun little device, sat down with me, watched
the tutorial on my tablet and helped me (it takes two hands and two thumbs and
I had an IV in my thumb so this made it impossible for me to do it by myself)
insert the sensor. It’s a process. I was impressed by Sam’s willingness to
learn something new. I actually taught
her something that day.
From a Patient’s Perspective: Never underestimate the power of a floating
nurse. Letting patients teach the nurse something, as Sam did, can be assuredly
empowering. Indicating to the patient that they WANT to come back to work with
you the next day undeniably will make that patient feel significant.
A Patient’s Perspective #8:
Hospitalist Dr. Prabhakara: Indifferent, disinterested, medically mediocre, nice,
friendly, warm, cordial, unmotivated, limited, unknowledgeable,
disadvantageous, forgetful, avoider.
I am
fortuitously relieved that my sugars had stopped crashing as low as they had
been and were manageable by the “Wednesday Hospitalist Change.” Reflecting back, I was unbelievably
providential to have had Sam, Karen and Carolyn who knew how to take care of
me, because if I had any other nurses, the doctor probably wouldn’t have known
what to do. I realize that I could have
had a worse doctor, but I also know that I could have had better. This one, was
just indifferent. One of the first things she told me was that she had never
seen a case like mine, that it was very unique and that she was going to
consult with my best-in-the-state endocrinologist, Dr. Patti, from Joslin. I
respect the fact she was willing to consult with an outside doctor, however,
she let Dr. Patti dictate my course of treatment IN the hospital without seeing
any data or talking or examining me. Dr. Patti didn’t know she was my
hospitalist too.
After Dr.
Prabhakara talked to Dr. Patti, she came in to my room and parroted everything
that Dr. Patti told her. She repeated herself several times. I can still repeat
exactly word for word what she told me. But then later she could not remember
what she told me (probably because they weren’t her thoughts or words). She was always pleasant and never upset me,
but I never felt that she had answered any of my questions any time she left my
room. I got the feeling that not only
was she unknowledgeable about post gastric bypass hypoglycemia, she didn’t
really want to know. She reflected all my questions with the answer “ask Dr.
Patti when you see her Friday.” But even
worse was when I asked her about why my blood pressure was crazy out of whack –
she still couldn’t answer – and told me to – wait for it – ask my PCP. Did she
not know ANYTHING? I hardly believe that.
What was especially exasperating was that she was more focused on
getting me to Joslin because “Dr. Patti made time for you in her busy schedule”
to see me, that she disregarded my health, the instability of my sugars and
would have discharged me regardless of what my blood sugars were because Dr.
Patti was so gracious to give me that appointment. Nobody asked me if I even
wanted to drive all the way into Boston on a Friday morning after being in the
hospital for 4 days. But my question to her was, what if my blood sugar is 45 on
Friday morning? I can’t drive to the appointment then can I? Then what? So
instead of figuring out WHY my sugars were so variable and why my labs were so
off when I came in so that I don’t end up coming back in a week…she passed me
off to someone else.
From a Patient’s Perspective: You can have the best bedside manner, even
smiling while talking to your patients but if there is nothing behind the tender expression
but pure indifference…it makes your patient feel very vulnerable and
inconsequential.
A Patient’s Perspective #9:
2C Social Worker, Julianne: Professional, respectful, helpful, supportive, perceptive,
praiseful, insightful, encouraging, empowering.
Social workers
at the hospital have a tough job. They need to know ALL the patients on the
unit and have to make sure they have all the services they require in place
before they are discharged. The girl has a lot of paperwork and makes a lot of
phone calls during the day before she even can spend time with the patients she
is finding services for.
I met Julianne
during my September admission when security was called on me 4 times (I only
really deserved the call once) and was seen by the hospital psychiatrist, Dr.
Redinger, twice. Julianne had her hands full with my constant restlessness and
unacceptable behavior and really, she didn’t know what to do with me. My
interactions with her were limited but the time she did spend with me were
respectfully reassuring.
However, it was
my November admission that made me want to write about her, mainly because it
was her suggestion and encouragement to write. So it is her fault you are
reading this right now. J
During my 2nd
admission, I had very few behavioral issues, I was a model patient in
comparison to my 1st admission.
One reason was an epiphany of sorts and some very therapeutic advice
from my prescribing doctor. Another was that I do well with consistency and
being admitted back to the same unit with nurses I already knew, helped. And I
also stopped taking a medication that could have aided in my agitation and
started a medication that keeps me calm. I even asked the doctor to add a dose
so that I stayed calm all day for everyone.
But my attitude had changed and as my treatment toward the staff became
more respectful, they reciprocated that respect. It also helped that I had the
best nurses most of my 2nd admission.
After about 2
days of being admitted several of the nurses noticed the behavior change and mentioned
it to me. Julianne also detected the change. I am not exactly sure how she knew
– what she had heard – but the fact she came to me and told me she had heard
about and noticed positive changes meant a lot to me.
It had been suggested that I talk to “the
unit manager” Arlene, about what happened with Mary B. I had thought I should
write my thoughts down before talking to her. Then because Karen had impressed
me so much that same day, I thought maybe I should tell her a compliment with
the complaint. THEN my thoughts just flowed off my fingers onto paper, and I
started writing. I wrote in detail, about Karen first. I let Julianne read it.
She was impressed with my writing and thought writing was therapeutic for me
and encouraged me to keep writing. That was around 1pm. I sat in my bed and
kept writing and writing and writing until nearly 9pm. This is never happens. I
never stay in one spot that long, but by 9pm I had written four patient
perspectives. And Julianne was right, it
was therapeutic for me. AND Karen had it easy that night, because I stayed
still for so many hours. The next day I wanted Julianne to see the monster she
created. I kinda made her read all four. She was a little reluctant seeing that
I had written so many pages but the whole time she read my stuff she kept
saying “wow” and when she got to the end she was disappointed there wasn’t
anymore!!! She told me that she looked forward to reading the end of each
person’s page to read my “patient’s perspective.” Julianne complimented my thoughts
and writing and again, someone from 2C had empowered me.
From a Patient’s Perspective: Letting a previously difficult patient know that you have observed a positive
change in them really does makes the patient feel good. Noticing a patient’s
strength then encouraging them to use it can be extremely empowering.
A Patient’s Perspective #10:
Hospitalist Dr. Katavolos: intelligent, approachable, accessible, accommodating,
informative, educated, experienced, thorough, revealing, honest, candid,
effective communicator, unpretentious, humble, respectful.
I had the principled
privilege of having Dr. Katavolos the last few days of my September admission.
He did not, would not, discharge me until I felt like all my questions and
ailments were answered. He ran test after test. I have to say, the man is
thorough. No rock left unturned. He entertained all my questions as redundant
or ridiculous as they may have been. He never indicated impatience with me,
never lectured me on reports of my behavior, and he eagerly anticipated my
endless lists of questions and comments. He never seemed rushed as I
interrogated him day after day while still giving me his valuable time to
process all his responses to my insecurities. What impressed me the most is
that he responded ALL my uncertainties, until I was convinced, equipped,
prepared and just plain ready for discharge. That alone calmed me.
When I was
admitted in November I was eventually assigned to Dr. K again. I only had the
opportunity to be under his care for one day before it became “Wednesday
Hospitalist Change Day,” and I ended up with a new doctor. But even that one
encounter that we had – was enlightening. I had requested, received and read my
medical records from my September admission and there were two little
inaccuracies in his discharge summary/notes that I wanted to clear up. When I hesitantly
approached him with the first one, he happily explained to me, without a
condensing note in his confident voice, why he had to record a diagnosis (that
he now knows was wrong). He made sense, his explanation seemed reliable. I
believed him anyways. THEN he said the unexpected. He said he would go back and
CHANGE the diagnosis based on the new information I had given him. Yeah, my
mouth is still on the ground.
The second discrepancy
was minor, but was substantially significant to me, and as soon as I started to
mention it, he already identified what he wrote as atypical and said “you know
– I thought there was something missing from that equation – but I had to base
my discharge summary on what your nurse had told me.” After logically explaining
to him the REAL situation, he thought what I said made a lot more sense, and he
also said he would change that on my medical records too. Amazing. Not only did
he remember what he wrote and knew what EXACTLY what I was talking about, he
was willing to modify my records not to satisfy or placate me (because I didn’t
even ask or expect him to) but for the sake of making things right. My biggest
compunction is that I didn’t get to have him as my doctor but only one day
during my November admission.
From a Patient’s Perspective: Making sure your patients get the answers
they need to ease anxieties can be fantastically enabling in the healing
process. Admitting there were mistakes made and then offering to FIX them, like
Dr. Katavolos, should be in the doctor’s handbook.