R. Lynn Barnett

R. Lynn Barnett is the author of What Patients Want: Anecdotes and Advice and My Mother has Alzheimer’s and My Dog Has Tapeworms: A Caregiver’s Tale. She can be reached on Twitter @rlynnbarnett1.

Rosalynn Carter’s impact on caregivers

R. Lynn Barnett

Conditions

December 25, 2023

I’m writing this in November, which is National Caregiver Month. It’s also Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. But regardless of when you’re reading this, if you’re a caregiver, every month is “caregiver month.”

Ironically, it’s also just a few days after the former first lady, Rosalynn Carter, passed away. She was acutely and astutely aware of the role of the caregiver and the toll that it can take on you. She so insightfully …

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Rosalynn Carter’s impact on caregivers

Why patients write: stress relief, self-care, and sharing experiences

R. Lynn Barnett

Conditions

September 23, 2023

To compliment and complement the KevinMD article “Why physicians need to write,” by Dr. Louise Aronson, I’ll share why patients, at least this patient, write. I wrote What Patients Want: Anecdotes and Advice because I had been “adrift in a draft, if you get my drift,” in doctors’ offices, and I thought I could share the perspective of the patient in the white paper sack, with health care …

A patient imagines a conversation with Alexa

R. Lynn Barnett

Patient

April 5, 2019

When Hubby isn’t around to act as a sounding board, when I’m not feeling well, I talk to my dog. She sometimes gets a fearful, tearful earful. I think if I could channel her thoughts to Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, our conversation might go something like this:

Me: Alexa, it took seven days of seeing dentists for someone to listen to me.

Alexa: I didn’t know you were a 7th Day Adventist.

Me: No, seven dentists.

Alexa …

Silence isn’t golden when it comes to health

R. Lynn Barnett

Patient

November 1, 2018

When I was a preemie — all two-and-a-half pounds of me — my mom was understandably worried. She said her doctor wheeled her down the hall to the newborn nursery, and my mom could hear me screaming all the way down the hall. She said, “I’ve got to hand it to you. You let your voice be heard — you let your needs be known. I told her that at …

Happy National Grateful Patient Day!

R. Lynn Barnett

Patient

September 20, 2018

One day I found out that it was National Limerick Day. I didn’t even know there was a National Limerick Day. I investigated other “days” and found out that September 7th was National Grateful Patient Day. So, this grateful patient will start her post with a limerick:

There was a patient in a flimsy gown,
Who was also wearing a frown.
She was getting a bad cold,
And feeling cold and old,
She wanted another …

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Happy National Grateful Patient Day!

As you enter medical school: tips from a patient

R. Lynn Barnett

Education

August 25, 2018

Since the beginning of a new academic year is fast approaching, here’s some heartfelt advice. You might need it, I hope you read it and heed it. If you’re just beginning your medical school journey, the first line is written specifically for you, but the rest of the piece is pertinent for any doctor, at any age and any stage of their careers.

If this is your first day of med …

Let’s order a round of respect: for both patients and physicians

R. Lynn Barnett

Patient

June 6, 2018

To complement Aaron Lacy’s post on treating colleagues with respect, I’d like to expand that concept to include treating patients with respect too. That means if a patient says she’s freezing, and adding insult to injury, has been sick as well, adjust the thermostat a little, please, even if you as the doctor isn’t cold. When a stray cat came to our door in the dead of winter, …

Finding a new doctor is like dating

R. Lynn Barnett

Patient

June 3, 2018

I agree wholeheartedly with a post by Annahieta Kalantari expressing the idea that finding a new physician job is like dating. A patient looking for a new MD can be just as uncertain, unnerving, intimidating and stressful.

First, you hear the dreaded words from a receptionist, often sorrowfully saying, “I’m sorry, we’re not in your network this year.” Then, the nerves begin. Maybe a friend recommends a doctor …

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Finding a new doctor is like dating

Advice for graduating medical students

R. Lynn Barnett

Education

April 20, 2018

Since graduations will soon be upon us, this is a graduation speech that I’d like to give one day:

Hello everyone, and welcome. To the practicing doctors in the audience, I hope you can look back on your own graduations. To the med students, I hope you can look ahead. And, hopefully, everyone can look forward to what are some heartfelt insights.

To the graduating class: As you’re sitting here ruminating about …

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Advice for graduating medical students