5 ways to make dealing with death easier

My husband, the anesthesiologist, came home one evening, he was solemn, affected, not himself. His patient died in the recovery room. It was sudden and unexpected for my husband. Despite the team’s swift efforts and perfectly executed code, the patient died anyway. It’s relevant to note that his patient was an almost 90-year-old man with significant congestive heart failure, probably chronic kidney disease, and complete occlusion of one of his carotids who sustained hip fracture and thus required the surgery to pin his hip for both healing and comfort. This is the ultimate catch-22 in medicine (or at least in geriatrics). Someone who really should not be having anesthesia or surgery due to their life-threatening chronic medical conditions has an accident and now requires surgery to make their remaining life bearable. My husband and the surgeon delivered the bad news together, and as the patient’s wife understandably fell apart, my husband cried in front of patient’s family for the first time, ever. As we processed this together, he asked me, the geriatrician, “How do you deal with death all the time?” Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Geriatrics Palliative care Source Type: blogs