What Are You Thankful For?

My Health Care Experience

Recently I had surgery. I’ve been lucky and until now, I’ve never needed anything serious from my doctor or my hospital providers. So when it came time for me to get surgery for my bad hip, I was very nervous.

 I had an amazing experience where all my doctors, nurses and other care providers were kind, compassionate and “on-their-toes.” When I got home, I sent a letter to my physician and to the hospital administrator for their overall competence, kindness and “job well done!”

Being thankful for good care is important to me and it is important to share with others. Being a doctor or a nurse is hard work and those of us in the medical profession are constantly dealing with people’s emotions during their most challenging and vulnerable time.

I applaud those in health care who do their best and who see patients as people. Seeing people as individuals with unique needs, concerns and desires is critical to feeling “seen” and being heard. This helps with healing and overall health.

My Medical Error Experience

Even so, I did have one little medical error that involved too much medication and passing out while getting out of bed. The nurses and doctors were quick to determine why I passed out (too much medicine and not enough fluids) and apologized. They apologized for my syncopal episode (passing out), for not providing an escort to help me get up out of bed, and they apologized for the fear and anxiety I might have felt by being so vulnerable in that situation.

My Co-Worker’s Medical Error Experience

When I got home I shared my story with a co-worker. He told me about a recent surgery he had that didn’t go well. It didn’t go well for two reasons: 1) his doctor did not actually perform the surgery but instead, had one of his junior doctors perform the surgery and it was not done correctly; and 2) after surgery the nurses forgot to give him several important medications then failed to recognize that he was decompensating.  My co-worker explained that they had to repeat his surgery and he had to stay in the hospital for another 10 days. Altogether, this whole experience has caused him years ongoing pain and poor health. 

My co-worker said that when he saw his doctor again, about a month later, the doctor said that the surgery went poorly, and that it was not his fault, nor could he be sued for the bad outcome. The doctor abruptly left the room saying he was advised by the hospital risk management team to have no further contact with my friend and he was referred to another doctor.

Since hearing this sad story from my friend, I’ve started to think about the importance of apologies. Many articles have been written about the importance of doctors apologizing when something goes wrong that then causes harm for the patient. Such articles are often written by the medical community, legal or risk management fields about how apologizing can decrease the risk of a lawsuit. 

And believe it or not, controversy remains about apologizing at all. Many question whether doctors or nurses can acknowledge their mistake without admitting fault, which would then leave them vulnerable in a court of law of having already “admitted” their wrong doing.

The Goal of Caring Care

For me, the focus is all about the patient.  In my friend’s case, he felt betrayed and vulnerable. He told me ‘All I wanted was to feel better. That’s all I wanted. I wanted the doctor to help me.’   In my case, when the doctors and nurses apologized, I felt like they took their jobs seriously and truly cared about me.

I walked away from my health care encounter feeling as though I was cared for by people who saw me not as a patient but as a person.

 Isn’t that what anyone wants when they go to see their health care provider—to feel better and to feel that you are in trusting, caring hands?

So in this new Fall season, I’m thanking my health care team of doctors, nurses, physical therapists and all the others who helped make my good care possible.

What are you thankful for?

About the author: Recognized by LinkedIn as a "Top Voice" in Health Care in 2015, author Julie Kliger is passionate about improving health care. She is a consultant, author and speaker. She specializes in healthcare quality, organizational change and improvement.