Thoughts on talking with patients.

[sunovermountain]

It's been a long week, and we've had some interesting patients

Comments

[suneclipse]

Ha. I bet it would be a good sociology experiment delving into the minds of those pro-life abortion seeking patients. Hypocritical much?

And I think it's a great thing that you're enjoying talking to the patients. I know many science-minded-medical-people that would much rather focus on the disease or disorder then the actual person and emotions involved.

[evade]

I talked to one patient through her entire abortion about bunnies. She had a pet rabbit, and I'd had one as a kid. We discussed their antics, how most people don't understand that it's possible to litter-train rabbits, and shared stories about the bunnies we'd kept. At the end, when the doctor said, "okay, all done," she was like, "are you serious?" She'd been so distracted she hadn't felt much pain or anxiety. Before I left the room, she thanked me for distracting her so thoroughly. I feel like it's an integral part of patient care, to make them feel comfortable however we can.