The fine line between do no harm and do nothing

On a particularly sultry day in a hospital of the Peruvian Amazon, I found myself with the task of telling a group of parents that their babies, who had been waiting in the hallways for days without eating in preparation for surgery, would not be able to have their cleft lip and palate fixed. We, a group of American doctors and medical staff offering this procedure free of charge to a population without access to a plastic surgeon, had overbooked our week out of eager hopefulness and now had to cancel the cases that we couldn’t fit in before our flight home. Nobody else from our group could do this job. They didn’t speak any Spanish; nobody among our Peruvian counterparts wanted to do this job. They didn’t have the heart to deliver the news. Lo siento, I said, limited by not knowing another way to apologize in Spanish, por favor regresa el proximo año. Please come back next year. Mothers cried, asking did I know how long a year is in the life of a baby. Fathers quietly and politely explained how far they had come, most families traveling for days in boats and canoes from deep in the jungle. I again could not say much more than Lo siento mucho. The Spanish phrase for “I’m sorry” literally translates to “I feel it (with you),” and I did. 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 Emergency Medicine Infectious Disease Pediatrics Public Health & Policy Source Type: blogs