Bookend
Can’t talk now
A student reflects upon life on the wards and looks for ways to improve communication.
I met him in the emergency room. As a third-year student, I now performed many basic procedures on a daily basis but this case was a first for me. The physical examination was unremarkable until I discovered a large, bleeding, irregular mass where his prostate should have been. From that moment, I knew the man had cancer.Subsequent work-up confirmed diagnosis, metastatic rectal carcinoma, but what disturbed me most was that, as far as I could tell, nobody informed the patient for over 36 hours. Yet in that time he was subjected to a series of rectal exams by grave-faced physicians. A biopsy and CT scan were performed to confirm suspicions. Within 10 minutes of my discovery, we were already detailing his poor...
From Other Issues
Fall 1999 | Winter 2000
10,000 house calls and counting
The familiar, rhythmic tones interrupted my pre-dawn reverie that early-spring morning. I rolled out of bed and made...
Summer 1999
Our generations
When my oldest daughter, Lydia, was four years old, she announced that she wanted to be a nurse when she grew up.“Why...
Spring 1999
Face to face with Ray
Over the last four years, I have listened to hundreds of patient stories as a medical student taking histories. Not all...
Summer 1998
The four humors weren't that funny
Laughter, they say, is the best medicine. But can laughter cure Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus? Let me put...
