It's a different experience taking care of patients similar to your age. Sometimes I feel more connected to them, because we have similar interests or there's just the bond that comes with being similar.
Some of the patients I'll develop a good rapport with and I can say things like "Stay strong, man." or "Hey how's it goin?" and be a little more casual with them. I can tell those patients really like being spoken to casually and don't prefer so much to be called Mr. Patient X every morning. We grew up in a generation where it's acceptable to be casual and anything overly formal feels artificial and not genuine.
I'll call patients similar to my age by their first name if they tell me they'd like that. It makes things a little therapeutic for both of us, because everyone calls friends by their first name. Is it a little more humanizing? I don't know. Does it affect my medical management? Not one bit.
Make an effort to seek ways to connect with your patients in appropriate ways every chance you get. Being a patient is a taxing experience, and every meaningful connection and conversation you can have with a patient makes a big difference to them.
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