Today marks the day where the rest of my life in medicine is cyclical in the good and bad.
I'm not even going to write about being tired anymore, how the days blur together and the like, because that's already the rest of my life .
* * *
"If you need to talk to someone, or want us to bring a chaplain, we can do that, sir."
"I have you right here, you're a good person to talk to."
I really wasn't expecting that and didn't think I was really going to help this patient any when they became emotional when talking about their multiple illnesses.
Take some extra time to connect with people, to listen, to make them not feel alone, and it's therapeutic for the both of you. It's always great having a first good connection with a patient, it makes the rest of your meetings easier, and helps the patient feel better. We know the effects pain and anxiety have on the autonomic system, so why not be a good listener and a figure of support to help minimize those things? It's easy and free. And might even mean better patient outcomes.
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