I always ask the patients on my service about the residents and medical students assisting in their care on our team.
"Is everyone taking good care of you?" I ask. "Are they attentive? Do they answer your questions?"
And, of course, that "they" includes me but it also allows me to get the real scoop on what happens when I'm not watching.
The other day I was talking to a patient who almost became tearful when I asked her that question. A warm smile erupted over her cheeks and she gladly shared her thoughts about my intern--her doctor--Ajay K.
"My doctor," she started out, "my doctor is just. . . .so. . . ." Her voice trailed off and then she sighed. "He's just kind. He just has the kindest eyes and whenever I see him I feel more calm. That doctor is a kind, kind man." And I looked her in her eye when she said that, too. I could tell that she wasn't just talking but that she meant every single word.
Yeah.
So not only is this intern a kind man with kind eyes. He is kind-kind.Which could quite possibly be one of the best things I've heard someone say about someone in a very long time.
Yesterday when we were rounding, I covertly captured the image above. And I love this image because in it I can see everything that his patient was speaking of. His body language is relaxed. And his eyes? Kind. Kind-kind even.
He's spending the month with us on Internal Medicine although his future career is in Emergency Medicine. Something about knowing that there will be a person like him waiting in a trauma bay or a procedure room for scared and vulnerable patients gives me great solace about the future.
I have said it before and I will say it again. The future of medicine is bright. I know this for sure because I see glimpses of it every single day.
Yeah.
***
Happy Tuesday.
"My doctor," she started out, "my doctor is just. . . .so. . . ." Her voice trailed off and then she sighed. "He's just kind. He just has the kindest eyes and whenever I see him I feel more calm. That doctor is a kind, kind man." And I looked her in her eye when she said that, too. I could tell that she wasn't just talking but that she meant every single word.
Yeah.
So not only is this intern a kind man with kind eyes. He is kind-kind.Which could quite possibly be one of the best things I've heard someone say about someone in a very long time.
Yesterday when we were rounding, I covertly captured the image above. And I love this image because in it I can see everything that his patient was speaking of. His body language is relaxed. And his eyes? Kind. Kind-kind even.
He's spending the month with us on Internal Medicine although his future career is in Emergency Medicine. Something about knowing that there will be a person like him waiting in a trauma bay or a procedure room for scared and vulnerable patients gives me great solace about the future.
I have said it before and I will say it again. The future of medicine is bright. I know this for sure because I see glimpses of it every single day.
Yeah.
***
Happy Tuesday.
Aw. Goodness. Kindness is always a goodness.
ReplyDeleteWho said it: "There are 3 important things in life. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind." Gives me hope for the future in general.
ReplyDeleteI love this! Whenever I sub in a classroom, I always tell them my #1 rule in the class - and in life - is to Be Kind! Sigh . . .
ReplyDeleteFrom the deck of the Poop
ReplyDeleteI love this!!! Just being kind is a gift that you can learn but I really feel that real, natural kindness is something you are just born with. A person may conscientiously act kind. The kindness that Ajay exhibited is just there without Ajay even thinking about. Just this reporter's opinion.
Poopdeck
I loved reading that. I work in health IT and all day long, I think about doctors and nurses and whether all these new products are helping them or hurting them, and are we just stressing them out so much they'll all just quit or be assholes? This post made me smile that no, at least one is not an asshole :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT! Kindness in this setting states quite clearly to a patient that the person performing the kindness is doing so because they want to, not because they have to. For the recipient there is security in it. What patient doesn't need to feel secure and that everything is going to be ok?
ReplyDelete