What would you do Doctor?.....
Let me be clear from the beginning that I am not a Doctor. If you have read my previous posts you know that I am a Physician Assistant and I take great pride in that. But often times patients don't understand the difference. When you receive your Medical Degree you also simultaneously receive immediate respect from most people. Patients recognize the time and knowledge you have put into your profession and place you high on a pedestal as an individual that has a valuable opinion. So when a patient calls me Doctor, I of course correct them, and then I feel honored to be confused with such influential people.
What would you do Doctor?......
This is a question that I hear frequently. And it's impact resonates inside of me. It is that moment when a patient asks me to stop speaking to them from my programmed scientific mind and reach into my personal self for the answer. The patient sitting across from me trying to decide if chemo therapy is the best option to treat his lung cancer or if the fact that the surgeon said the entire tumor was removed is sufficient enough of a treatment. They ask me to step into their lives and FEEL what they feel, if just for a moment.
What would you do Doctor?......
It is a question that I both dread and look forward to at the same time. It is a moment when my heart both stops and leaps from my chest simultaneously. I feel an enormous obligation to say exactly the right thing at that moment. My medical dialogue is backed by proven theory and experiment but my personal opinion seems meaningless. What if I say the wrong thing? What if I say the right thing but it is misinterpreted? What if I don't know what to say? It is a time of self examination and a time of extreme vulnerability. What would I do? Why does that matter? Yet to that patient, at that moment, the entire world revolves around my response. And I am reminded that some day this will be me on the other side of the exam table asking my trusted practioner "what would you do?" And I hope that they will pause before answering and consider....the impact.
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