Spending time with our patients
We know that at home our priority is to our loved ones. At work, in a busy family practice, on the hospital wards, or in the community where do we begin and how can we possibly get to everybody in need? Is all this extra effort worth it?
How about beginning with the patient in front of us: taking time to listen; to really understand what is wrong; how bad is it; who is really affected and how; what are the implications right now and later; what can realistically be done?
It is likely to take more than one encounter to develop a real understanding of what is wrong. How illness affects the patient’s life, family and work. What better than to visit the patient at home and see how he or she lives? This opens our eyes to the patient’s daily challenges and gives us an idea of the real causes of the causes of disease - the determinants of health.
Working to improve these determinants of health while treating the patient may prevent him or her from becoming ill again or make a real difference in breaking the cycle between the causes of illness and the suffering of the patient and those around them. It really is worth the extra effort to see someone heal and to see a real change in the circumstances of his or her life.
Prioritising the needs of our patients helps us organise our work.
As we become familiar with the patient and the daily burdens of his or her life, we can plan our interventions, whether this constitutes a letter to the housing association, assistance with rehabilitation or a leg prosthesis or protection from an abusive partner. The key aspects are that we know the patient and we are better positioned to know what the patient needs. It is easier to advocate for patients we know because we care about them.
Sometimes, exhausting as it is, it can be hard to remember the privilege that a life in medicine is. It is also hard to really love a stranger as we love ourselves, but it is possible to care sincerely, and we are reminded of how much God cares for us every day.
As we rest and reflect between patients and recharge our batteries, we remember that spending time with them to be truly effective is what counts - and is easily the best part of our job. Seema Biswas
