Why aren ’t doctors allowed to grieve?

My alarm went off at 4:15 a.m. I lay in bed dreading the day ahead of me. By 4:50 a.m., I arrive at the nursing home where I was doing a geriatric rotation. A stack of charts and a patient complaint list was awaiting me. On the list were the usual suspects: a follow up for lab results, a fall, abdominal pain. And at the bottom was a note on my patient — “deceased, requires discharge note.” Sharing the news with my colleagues, there was a moment of sadness and a shared sentiment of, “Aww. She was sweet,” and just as quickly we went back to pre-rounding. Frustrated, I sat down to write a discharge summary on the deceased patient. In what condition is the patient being discharged? Fair? Stable? Improved? There was no option for deceased. What procedures or therapies should the patient continue after discharge? All I could think to write on that line was “N/A.” I reviewed the hospital admission note. The patient was found unresponsive in her bed, and after 30 minutes of running a code, she was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. Prior to her passing, she shared with me that her hope was to survive until her birthday in a few weeks. 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: Education Emergency Medicine Geriatrics Source Type: blogs