Shortly after I stopped yelling, swearing and cursing about my dislocated radius fracture (which took about 48 hours) I decided to get the best out of it: We don’t get many chances to get this change of perspective and see and feel how doctor’s work impacts the patient. So I decided to observe closely what I can learn from my colleagues and from the situation itself: The good, the bad an the ugly:
Hospitals have one great advantage over general companies. You don’t have to spend a whole lot of money hiring consultants to find out if you make a good job. You just have to be honest and ask yourself this one question: “Would you go there if you were sick?”
Since I started studying medicine I got to know numerous different work environments. I counted up to twenty different internships, hospitations and rotations, most of them lasting only a couple of weeks. They enable you to get to know different fields but also require you to integrate you fast, if you want to be taught something. If you want to learn something during your internship, you need a plan:
During my first clinical clerkship on a nephrology ward, we went on rounds and the chief resident attempted to explain to a patient why her kidneys didn’t work: “…your disease is of inflammatory origin.”
I thought: “What? Inflammatory…as opposed to…? I have no clue what he just said! OK I’m still a beginner. I have only studied two years of medicine, but odds are.. that’s more than the patient studied!”
Six years or more we spent to learn how to use the medical language. And it is important to use it when talking to colleagues to minimize risk of misunderstanding.
But to make sure that we are also understood by the patients, we have to learn a different skill: we have to switch from medical to nonmedical tongue.
So, how can we make sure, the patient understands us?
In the beginning of my career I thought I had more than enough to do with handling ONE patient. Having relatives around seemed to me like having additional “opponents”. They appeared like someone who has additional demands and wishes. Turns out I was wrong. The truth is that the patient’s relatives are our allies.
Ever since I started studying medicine I get several medical questions during every party.
Many people have a bad conscience, questioning me, because they think I don’t like to talk about medical issues in my free time.
But the truth is, it never bothered me to listen to their experiences. I can also profit from these conversations, because I get an unfiltered view of a patient and she can tell me what she liked and disliked about her doctor.
But what I`ve learned – mostly by trial and error – is that you have to obey certain rules. Otherwise you can get into big time trouble…
Sooner or later you will find yourself in a position to prepare a presentation about a clinical topic. You can either kill your audience’s curiosity or you can excite them, it’s up to you. Here is my approach to how to excite your audience:
Your time with the boss -the attending physician- will always be very limited. Often you will only have two minutes to present a patient, discuss the results and make a treatment plan.
This is difficult, but it is possible.
The other day I had an important matter to discuss with the attending. He had to be at another meeting, so I walked him to the meeting, which took two minutes and we managed to solve the problem during that time.
But to get this done preparation and a plan is necessary.
In a changing work environment we permanently have to learn new skills to become and stay uptodate. In a 60-hour-week it can be challenging to acquire new knowledge and skills. But with the right plan it is possible.
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Here are my 4 steps to make sure you get the most out of your chance.
Today is the official start! This blog is designed for Physicans, Medical students and anybody, who is passionate about medicine and wants to grow in his job and reach his full potential.
Nowadays doctors face many challenges everyday. We deal with health care problems and understaffing in a rapidly changing medical environment. We are expected to heal, teach, do research, talk to relatives, meet the new quality standards and deal with the numbers.
In spite of these challenges, in my opinion, physicians are just the luckiest people in the world. Every day we have the chance to have a positive impact on so many different people. And if we want, we can learn new things every day.
In this blog I write about personal growth and leadership in the medical world. If you also want to grow to be a better physician and practice Medicine with Passion this blog is for you!
By the way: The medical world is not that different from any other world. So if you are not into medicine but you want to follow my blog, I’d be happy.
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