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

The patient who reminded this student to care for everyone equally

Natasha Mathur
Education
October 25, 2020
243 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

During the third week of my internal medicine rotation, I was assigned to a patient who would be brought to our floor following an operation. I saw him briefly as they wheeled him into his room but could hear his screams of pain all through our morning rounds. When I walked into the room, he was in agony. He could barely speak, and all he could say was, “It hurts.” I tried to ask his nurse if there had been a problem administering his pain medication, but before I could finish my sentence, she replied in a hushed voice: “Have you looked at his chart … he’s an IV drug user.” I was shocked. This was not the type of statement I expected to hear in the hospital. After all, even if he was an IV drug user, wasn’t our first priority, not to mention our job, as a medical team to treat him? I was lucky to be working with a compassionate resident and attending physician, who agreed that he needed his pain medication, and helped me learn how to advocate that to the rest of the medical team.

As his hospital stay continued, I found myself constantly advocating for his treatment. Each day I went into his room, I would ask him if he was getting his medication, and he would tell me how difficult it had been or how poorly he had been treated overnight. He told me again and again about doses that were missed because they were deemed too high or too frequent, even though we as a team had taken care to consider his tolerance to pain medication when deciding doses and frequencies. It was baffling to me that people in a profession meant to help others could show such bias and stigma towards patients. In my mind, opioid use is similar to any other chronic disorder. Patients with opioid use disorder still have illnesses and pains and need to be treated for them. The first few days going into his room were not always easy – he was often in severe pain and didn’t feel like answering my questions. The residents told me I didn’t need to see him if I didn’t want to, and I considered following a new patient. But I knew that was wrong, and I became determined to continue working with him. I knew that he was in pain, needed care, and, most importantly, was a fellow human being who deserved my time and respect just as much as the next patient.

I started spending extra time in his room because I wanted him to know that someone cared. While we were chatting, he told me about some encounters that stuck out to him. He told me about people who treated him like “human scum” because he used opioids or because he sometimes found himself without a home. He shared with me that he always thought through his decision to go to the ER because he knew how terribly he would be treated once he got into the hospital. People assumed that he wanted a free meal or that he was coming in to score drugs, and he was never treated with respect or decency. He told me the importance he placed on honesty – and how he always told his providers the truth, even though he knew it would change how he was treated. He told me that he could see the change in a provider’s eyes once he shared that he had used opioids – and how they began to treat him with distrust and disrespect. There were stories he told me about when he was living on the street that would make me cry when I got home that day because I could not understand how people could be so cruel to another human being.

During one of our chats, I brought in an M1 student who was shadowing with our team for the day. I was hoping to show him how treating all patients fairly and with respect was important, regardless of whether their history included drug use or homelessness. Our patient mentioned that he made it a priority to always say “good morning” to people and didn’t understand why nobody in the hospital would ever say it back. He told us that people barely even looked at his face.  Doctors would come in and assess his area of infection and leave without so much as a smile. As we were leaving the room, I asked the M1 what he got out of the experience. He replied, “I know I’m always going to say good morning to people now.” Later, it occurred to me that our patient had just stepped into the role of a teacher. With just a few statements, he ensured that we would be better providers, even as he sat in a hospital and was continuously judged by members of our profession.

In truth, my patient had absolutely no reason to trust me with his stories. I was another medical professional coming into his room and asking him questions. But I am thankful that he did. He understood that I was there to learn and offered to teach me something that a textbook cannot. It pains me to know that patients who use IV drugs are looked at with such a narrow lens, both in society and in medical settings. They are often undertreated or misdiagnosed because providers have preformed biases and refuse to look past them. Within a minute of seeing a patient, someone can make a snap judgment that will alter that patient’s hospital course. It is my goal to focus on really listening to my patients, validating them, and reminding them that I will take care of them. I hope my patient’s experience can help change a single health provider’s outlook and encourage them to change the way they look at and treat patients with any type of use disorder. I am grateful that my patient took the time to teach the other student and me whether he realized it or not. I took care of him through the end of my rotation, and it was one of my hardest goodbyes. Although I was not expecting it, he taught me about the impact that my actions and words have. He reminded me to care for everyone equally, to look patients in the eye when talking to them, and to always say, “Good morning.”

Natasha Mathur is a medical student.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

3 coronavirus facts Americans must know before returning to work and school [PODCAST]

October 24, 2020 Kevin 0
…
Next

Electronic medical record reminders influence treatment decisions: Are they always right?

October 25, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine, Medical school

Post navigation

< Previous Post
3 coronavirus facts Americans must know before returning to work and school [PODCAST]
Next Post >
Electronic medical record reminders influence treatment decisions: Are they always right?

More by Natasha Mathur

  • I never expected death to be so blunt

    Natasha Mathur

Related Posts

  • What Hurricane Harvey taught this medical student about patient care

    Weijie Violet Lin
  • More physician responsibility for patient care

    Michael R. McGuire
  • The ultimate in patient empowerment: advance care planning

    Patricia McTiernan
  • Patient care is not a spectator sport

    Jim Sholler
  • Why health care fails to deliver better value in patient care

    Kristan Langdon, DNP and Timothy Lee, MPH
  • What Celine Dion can teach us about patient care

    Edward Leigh

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

    • 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
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
    • Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

      Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD | Physician
    • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

      Mohammed Umer Waris, MD | Policy
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • 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
  • Recent Posts

    • Why it’s time to question medical traditions [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden gems of health care: Unlocking the potential of narrative medicine

      Dr. Najat Fadlallah | Physician
    • The realities of immigrant health care served hot from America’s melting pot

      Stella Cho | Policy
    • The dark side of immortality: What if we could live forever?

      Ketan Desai, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Lazarus: the dead man brought back to life

      William Lynes, MD | Conditions
    • Revolutionizing COPD management with virtual care solutions [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

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

  • Doc Moms, Mind the Gap -- $3M Earning Difference by Sex
  • Clinical Note Writing App Powered by GPT-4 Set to Debut This Year
  • Helping Patients Get Fit -- One Walk at a Time
  • TB Cases Rebound to Near Pre-Pandemic Levels, CDC Data Show
  • Marginalized Groups May Benefit More From Decreasing Air Pollution

Meeting Coverage

  • Switch to IL-23 Blocker Yields Deep Responses in Recalcitrant Plaque Psoriasis
  • Biomarkers of Response With Enfortumab Vedotin in Advanced Urothelial Cancer
  • At-Home Topical Therapy for Molluscum Contagiosum Gets High Marks
  • Outlook for Itchy Prurigo Nodularis Continues to Improve With IL-31 Antagonist
  • AAAAI President Shares Highlights From the 2023 Meeting
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • 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
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
    • Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

      Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD | Physician
    • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

      Mohammed Umer Waris, MD | Policy
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • 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
  • Recent Posts

    • Why it’s time to question medical traditions [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden gems of health care: Unlocking the potential of narrative medicine

      Dr. Najat Fadlallah | Physician
    • The realities of immigrant health care served hot from America’s melting pot

      Stella Cho | Policy
    • The dark side of immortality: What if we could live forever?

      Ketan Desai, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Lazarus: the dead man brought back to life

      William Lynes, MD | Conditions
    • Revolutionizing COPD management with virtual care solutions [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

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...