This doctor doesn ’t go to patients’ memorial services

Patients and their family members are impressed when doctors show up for memorial services. They tell me about it. “The doctor liked my mother so much that he came to her wake,” a patient recently confided in me as I examined her. She had been a sole caregiver for her aging parents for years, and her mother had passed a few months earlier. The physician’s presence at her mother’s service provided a source of comfort, and I could understand why. Attending wakes was a deeply rooted tradition in the Irish Catholic community of my childhood. As a young girl, I can remember many times sitting in the car outside of a funeral home as my parents stopped in at a wake. We were always charged with one simple task: to behave for 15 minutes. One memorable time while trying our best to behave, my youngest brother actually sneezed so forcefully that his chewing gum ended up packed deep inside his nose. We had failed our mother’s clear instructions. Luckily with some aggressive coaching upon her return to the car, my brother successfully coughed his minty gum out through his nose, thereby averting an ER trip. Although not all as noteworthy as this, I would estimate that between my many great aunts, uncles, friends, and neighbors, I had been to dozens of wakes by the time I graduated residency. 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 Primary Care Source Type: blogs