Breaking Bad News

I have always thought that it would be too difficult for me to be an oncologist due to the emotional burden of sharing devastating news with a patient and their family. During this rotation, I spent the afternoon with an orthopedic oncologist. He had one of the best bedside manners that I have seen.  With every patient, he just seemed to build rapport effortlessly, and he seemed to have a deep connection with the patients he had treated that were now in remission. I not only saw him interact with the patients that were now doing well, but also patients who faced an undesired disease progression, specifically one patient with stage IV disease.

We walked into the room and he introduced me to the seventy-year-old patient and her daughter. He started off asking the daughter about a tattoo on her arm, and making friendly conversation. He then examined the mother’s shoulder where a tumor was growing underneath. He explained how the CT scan showed spots in her lungs in addition to the tumor on her shoulder, and what her options were for treatment. He explained this all in a calm and straightforward manner. He did not go into the medical specifics and what this meant for her prognosis, but instead discussed in simpler terms how he could help her.  I could tell the patient and her daughter were both shaken up by the results. The patient was trembling while tears formed in her daughter’s eyes. The physician allowed them to process this information with silence and again told her how he could help her in his role as the surgical oncologist.  He also provided a plan of action for them. He encouraged them to see the medical oncologist within the week, and he advised them to contact him with any questions or concerns they may have.

Cancer is horrible. There is no way to alleviate the shock, fear, and pain of that diagnosis. I have never been sure how I would break that news as a physician. Seeing this doctor tell his patient and her daughter about her cancer showed me a good way to do it. He was straightforward with his explanation, yet calm and empathetic in his delivery. He did not promise a cure, yet he did not take away all hope. Although I felt extremely sad for the patient and her daughter, I could appreciate the way the physician handled the situation.

This specific experience provided me with insight into a way to share difficult news with a patient. It is a balance between showing empathy and serving a source of strength and hope. It is explaining the diagnosis in clear and simple terms and taking the time to let the family process in the information. It is not leaving the patient feeling hopeless about their condition, but instead providing a plan of action and reassuring them that you are available to help them. Through this experience, I hope I am similarly able to discuss difficult diagnosis in a way that makes the experience as easy as possible for the patient.

Thoughts on Family Medicine

After 6 weeks on this rotation, I have become somewhat familiar with the practice of family medicine. Ultimately, I've realized you need to be a REALLY good doctor if you want to go into family medicine because you essentially need to have a mastery of three subjects: internal medicine, pediatrics, and ob/gyn. However, due to the reimbursement rates and restrictions on patient care, family medicine doesn't generally attract the top students. Even if you're a pretty good student, it is really difficult to know three broad fields very well. It seems that end result is a "jack of all trades, master of none" situation.

Coming off of the ob/gyn rotation, I think that there is a reason a "speciality" exists for this field. Those doctors are putting in IUDs everyday, talking about birth control options every day, looking at cervices everyday. Therefore, they have a better grasp on diseases affecting those patients. Yes, doing a pap smear isn't very difficult but fully managing a women's ob/gyn needs can be, and I think it should be left to the ob/gyns to do that.

However, I also realized the utility of the "family doc" in rural areas. If you have a good base of knowledge in internal medicine, pediatrics, and ob/gyn, and you're the only doctor for a few hundred miles, it makes sense. However, in the urban setting, I feel that patient receive better care going to the specific subspecialty of pediatrics or ob/gyn.

Overall, I have enjoyed this rotation. It's patient-care focused. There is a lot of preventative medicine. The hours are pretty nice (but you hours outside of clinic are generally filled with paperwork). You see a wide variety of patients. Other times it can get pretty monotonous (for example, having 5 physicals back to back). Ultimately, I don't think it's my passion. I don't feel as excited coming to clinic every day as I do going into the OR.

On Hurting Patients

As the other students in my class, I came to medical school because ultimately I want to help people. However, I didn't fully realize that with the intention of helping people, you sometimes I have to hurt them (ex: vaccines, drawing labs, IV medications, sometimes even physical exam maneuvers).

We had a young women come into clinic the other day because she has tenosynovitis. One of the treatments for tenosynovitis is a steroid injection into you wrist, underneath the tendon sheath. I went into the room, introduced myself to the patient and her family within the room (husband and 2 small children), and explained to them about the procedure. I was working with a resident that day.  As the resident is preparing the injection, she tells me "I'll do the first one and you'll do the second."

Medical school is about learning and that includes procedures, but I had never given a steroid shot before, especially not into the wrist where there are about 20 other things in that small space. This was also the first time the resident was doing this particular procedure. I didn't say anything and just tried to get into the mindset to do it. The resident puts the needle into the patients left arm and starts injecting. The patient flinches and starts crying. The resident finishes, looks at me, and asks, "you want to do the next one?" I am conflicted. I don't want to look like a bad/afraid/uninterested medical student, but I am not comfortable with this procedure and the patient in front of me is crying out of pain. I say, "I'm not really comfortable doing that." The resident gives me a look and does the injection. As we walk out of the room, she tells me that I'm doing the next steroid shot even if I'm scared. I tried to explain to her it was more to do with the patient crying in front of me and unfamiliarity with the procedure than fear. 

The experience made me realize how much I DON'T like doing procedures outpatient. Even though I am a procedurally geared person, I like surgeries because the patient is anesthetized. They can't feel you cutting through their skin; they don't FEEL. I have found outpatient procedures really difficult, especially joint/steroid injections. It's hard to want to try something for the first time when it includes inflicting pain on a patient.