March 7
by Alison
On this rotation we have had the opportunity to consider
many important aspects of medical education through ambulatory learning. However, we have not really discussed
the topic of patient education, which is often a key component of ambulatory
care. There have been many
opportunities for patient education during this selective on topics such as
lifestyle, medication adherence, and symptoms requiring medical
attention. These are topics for
which I have been well prepared and I am quite comfortable in this aspect of
patient education. However, one
area of patient education that I continue to find challenging is responding to
patients’ criticisms of their previous care and educating patients about the
structure and limitations of the healthcare system.
Yesterday in clinic I saw a patient who was completing
treatment for an illness. During
our encounter, she mentioned that she had been misdiagnosed at a community
hospital before being diagnosed at one of the teaching hospitals. It was clear that the patient was
frustrated by this and she said something critical about the care she had
received at the community hospital in comparison to the care she had received
at the teaching hospital.
I understood why the patient was upset. However, I think that sometimes
patients don’t realize the difference in resources that may be available at an
academic centre versus a community hospital. This can lead to a perception that the care offered in the
community is inferior to the care offered at academic centres. Without wanting to make the patient
feel that I was invalidating her concerns, I felt it was important to mention
to her that we have access to a lot of excellent resources in teaching
hospitals, which provides a diagnostic advantage compared to some
settings. This approach seemed to
be well received by the patient.
However, I continue to find such situations to be one of the more
challenging aspects of medicine, and I hope that I will receive further
education on this in the future.
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