Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Patients are more than multiple choice questions

Rick Pescatore, DO
Education
May 27, 2012
212 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

It felt good to stuff the stethoscope back into my pocket and slip into the emergency department last night. The constant ringing of phones, beeping of cardiac monitors, and distant wail of inbound EMS units was a welcome cacophony compared to the isolated silence of the library study rooms. Sweeping the curtain back as we stepped into the first patient room, the hours of frustration with biochemical pathways and embryological derivatives evaporated.

Li and his father sat side by side on the stretcher, the room’s spare seat having been stolen by another patient’s many visitors. He looked up as I tapped on the wall before entering, but the older man simply stared off into the distance. The triage nurse’s note explained how Li had brought his father to be looked over after he’d spent the past several days roaming the streets, a “Code Silver.” With the Alzheimer’s relentless progression, there were more bad days than good now, and this wasn’t the first time that Li had needed to go searching for his missing dad.

My exam took longer than usual, a combination of rusty skills and academic curiosity, having just wrapped up both the neuroscience and geriatrics blocks. I moved my stethoscope from side to side, intent on not missing the slightest lung crackle or heart thump. “Gas Pedals!” I ordered as I tested muscle strength, felt for pulses, and shined a bright light into sluggish eyes. Even though I knew the resident would repeat the same tasks, I wanted to be sure to cover every base, just in case. It was only after the resident had finished his own exam and the nurse entered to finish her own duties that Li asked us to step outside with him.

He couldn’t do it anymore. He worried that next time he might not be able to find his wayward father, that something bad might happen. Further, with a sluggish economy, rising costs, and a family to feed, Li simply couldn’t afford to continue to miss shifts and take sick days. His father needed better care than Li could provide, and the son needed help placing the aging man in a nursing home that could keep him safe.

It was then that I noticed Li’s fraying collar and faded jeans. The soles of his sneakers were beginning to pull away from their rubber base and a single piece of scotch tape held the bridge of his glasses snugly together. A past-due electric bill peeked from the pocket of his too-large sweater. Li’s struggles and sacrifices were evident in his worn wardrobe.

Some hours later I watched from down the hall as a technician arrived to transfer Li’s father upstairs, the resident having found some tenuous reason to justify admission until a nursing home spot could be found. I returned their goodbye wave and smiled–even as I sighed on the inside, endlessly exasperated with the shortcomings in geriatric medicine that I’ve seen these past years. We have tele-neurology and can call brain specialists from all over the world, yet our grandparents can’t call for help when they’ve fallen. We finance little blue pills and Botox, but struggle to provide a resource to help a struggling man take care of his aging father.

When I got home I collapsed into bed, sending the sleeping cat running away in annoyance. My stolen night in the ER was an important reminder that patients are more than multiple choice questions, and deeper than their disease. This week has six exams packed into five days, and the few hours in the department will help me endure.

Rick Pescatore is a medical student who blogs at Little White Coats.

Submit a guest post and be heard on social media’s leading physician voice.

Prev

How academic press releases are being used for free advertising

May 26, 2012 Kevin 6
…
Next

The online presence of health information empowers patients

May 27, 2012 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Emergency Medicine, Neurology

Post navigation

< Previous Post
How academic press releases are being used for free advertising
Next Post >
The online presence of health information empowers patients

More by Rick Pescatore, DO

  • 3 ways to win back the public’s trust in medicine

    Rick Pescatore, DO
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    6 things I wish I had known at the beginning of medical school

    Rick Pescatore, DO
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    A medical student is forced to step beyond the things he knows

    Rick Pescatore, DO

More in Education

  • The secret to success in medical school: self-awareness and courage

    Kaelor Gordon
  • Is mandating pre-medical training widening disparities in the U.S. physician workforce?

    Deepak Gupta, MD and Sarwan Kumar, MD
  • Equalizing the future of medical residencies: standardizing work hours and wages

    Deepak Gupta, MD and Sarwan Kumar, MD
  • From studying to baby kicks: Navigating motherhood in medical school

    Natalie Eichner-Seitz
  • The power of advocacy: a medical student’s journey to helping an uninsured immigrant

    Fabiola Plaza
  • From AI to love: the key to a better future in medical education

    Stevan Walkowski, DO
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Why are doctors sued and politicians aren’t?

      Kellie Lease Stecher, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Unlock the power of physician compensation data in contract negotiations [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • From pennies to attending salaries: Why physicians should teach their kids financial literacy

      Michele Cho-Dorado, MD | Finance
    • From solidarity to co-liberation: Understanding the journey towards ending oppression

      Maiysha Clairborne, MD | Physician
    • Changing the pediatric care landscape: Integrating behavioral and mental health care

      Hilary M. Bowers, MD | Conditions
    • Contract Diagnostics is the only firm 100 percent dedicated to physician contract reviews

      Contract Diagnostics | Sponsored
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Pregnant, Black? Here's Your Drug Test
  • Progestin-Only Birth Control Linked to Small Increase in Breast Cancer Risk
  • Fatty Acid Tube Feeding May Backfire for Preemie Breathing Disorder
  • Case Reports Detail Vision Loss Linked to Recalled Artificial Tears
  • Admin Trumps Med Students: Anti-Abortion Group Allowed on Campus

Meeting Coverage

  • Outlook for Itchy Prurigo Nodularis Continues to Improve With IL-31 Antagonist
  • AAAAI President Shares Highlights From the 2023 Meeting
  • Second-Line Sacituzumab Govitecan Promising in Platinum-Ineligible UC
  • Trial of Novel TYK2 Inhibitor Hits Its Endpoint in Plaque Psoriasis
  • Durable Vitiligo Responses With Topical Ruxolitinib
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Why are doctors sued and politicians aren’t?

      Kellie Lease Stecher, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Unlock the power of physician compensation data in contract negotiations [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • From pennies to attending salaries: Why physicians should teach their kids financial literacy

      Michele Cho-Dorado, MD | Finance
    • From solidarity to co-liberation: Understanding the journey towards ending oppression

      Maiysha Clairborne, MD | Physician
    • Changing the pediatric care landscape: Integrating behavioral and mental health care

      Hilary M. Bowers, MD | Conditions
    • Contract Diagnostics is the only firm 100 percent dedicated to physician contract reviews

      Contract Diagnostics | Sponsored
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today iMedicalApps
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...