How do you tell a 24 year old that she is dying?

Physicians are no strangers to death. We are baptized into medicine with cadavers as first-year medical students. We learn to break bad news. We lose patients, some that are expected and some we never see coming. Through it all, we maintain a distance, an emotional reserve that enables us to shoulder these losses but still see the next patient with the full attention they deserve. But every now and then we lose a patient, and that loss stays with us. One thing that we don’t learn in medical school is how to grieve these losses. For me the grief came in my dreams, three consecutive nights dreaming that she was still alive, that the phone call notifying me of her death had been a mistake. She still had time. I would see her on rounds tomorrow. 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 Oncology/Hematology Palliative Care Source Type: blogs