Those are words no patient wants to hear.

Hospitalist Jonathan Roylance talks about his aortic valve replacement, embolic stroke, and ascending aortic aneurysm, all dealt with as he was going through medical training.

Would he have received the same care if he wasn’t a medical “insider?”

“My ordeal taught me the value of responsibility, hard work, and compassion,” writes Dr. Roylance, and points out “I was blessed to have the right connections and the knowledge of what resources I could use to succeed.”

Patients however, “rarely understand their diseases, and they almost never have the necessary experience to navigate the medical system.”

Many doctors haven’t used the medical system as patients. Sometimes we need to take a step back and see things through a patient’s perspective, and realize how intimidating our medical system can be.