Write to my patient – Trust the doctor

  A busy year is coming to an end, and this morning I wrapped up, successfully completing the last surgery, writing up the surgical notes, checking in, making arrangements, and being able to go home early in the afternoon. Finally, I had the opportunity to sit at home in front of my computer during the day on a weekday and look back on a full year of work life with some emotion. It was a relief to not prepare more for tomorrow’s surgery and not build up energy for tomorrow’s clinic, a relief to completely let go of my worries.  Being a doctor for almost 20 years, I feel that I am getting busier and busier, and I don’t have time for myself, everything is tied up by work, busy and full. Occasionally when I have time to reunite with the elderly at home, I often show a state of exhaustion, and my mother often has to ask, “There is another surgery today, and often the answer is, “No, I am outpatient today. Originally, I thought there was nothing in outpatient clinics, seeing patients and prescribing medication, and that was all. In fact, over the past few years, I feel more and more that the patients’ knowledge of the disease is not enough, and I am really anxious to pass on my views to the patients, so that they can accept my suggestions and take the most reasonable treatment method. Therefore, when I go out to the clinic, I put more and more experience on the explanation and mobilization work, so that the patients can reach the level of understanding and acceptance. In fact, these take a lot of effort to figure out. Some patients are more educated and can easily understand, yet they just don’t agree with the best advice and still insist on their point of view, which is the saddest part for doctors. “I have to talk to my family about it -, how about my colleagues -, I have to go home and ask my mother – “. My most uniform response is: “The people you are discussing with are not doctors and will not give you any more professional advice than the doctor, it is better to take the doctor’s advice.” More patients are noncommittal, “Just take some medication first.” For elderly patients with comprehension deficits or who cannot understand, I do recommend coming in for a follow-up visit with my son or daughter next time; learning the tongue can often be biased, avoiding the important and not conveying my meaning correctly, thus making half the effort. Compared to the outpatient clinic, the surgery day is much easier, even if I complete six surgeries a day, and the evening is just as relaxing. Because the surgical procedure is the one I am most familiar with, the surgery is planned and well planned, and each step is executed step by step. Patients often ask me in outpatient clinics, “Is there a risk to the surgery?” Instead of a direct answer, I often ask, “Is there a risk to you walking?” Most people answer, “No.” Then I tell them, “I see a lot of people a day who fall, who break bones, who get hit by cars, who are disabled if they are not treated. These are the risks. We don’t stop walking because of the risks, nor should we be afraid of surgery because of the risks. We need to understand the existence of risk and the need for surgery correctly. If the condition requires surgery, then accept the surgery, and if it is the surgeon who needs the surgery, then it needs to be re-evaluated. As a surgeon, my principle is to try not to operate if I can.  In this society, doctors need more trust from patients and families. Doctors and patients, as well as patients’ families, all have the same goal, to get the disease cured. How easy is it to trust? The first time you see a doctor, the first time you deal with him/her in this life, why should the patient trust you? This is related to the general environment of our society, where every day a lot of media are promoting how to prevent fraud! Prevent falling for it! When operating in front of an ATM machine in a bank, the constant broadcast to pay attention to suspicious people around you! …… A large number of incidents of injury to doctors reflects the seriousness of distrust in doctors, a serious crisis of trust! What to do to get the disease cured? Find an acquaintance. Find acquaintances will not be fooled, not cheated! A certain person is going to operate, the greeting before the operation constantly, so that the doctor to do his best! No problem. In fact, the face of any individual patient is the same, the patient in the operating table, I face is a “work”, to make this “work” to achieve a perfect situation is my most essential idea, I will devote myself to complete his good. No matter if the person lying there is a minister or a cleaner or a hygienist, they are all the same, and there is no nobility in life. For the weak, I will take more care of him, he has to resume the ability to work earlier, return to society, work for himself and his family, my responsibility is greater.  Qiu Fazu, the father of surgery in China, has also repeatedly stated his view that those whose talents are not close to immortality cannot be doctors, and those whose virtues are not close to Buddha cannot be doctors. Although we can not reach the realm of the immortals and Buddhas, but doctors are a profession that requires constant recharging, constantly transmitting positive energy, and doctors often pay more than the average job, at least I so experience. In addition to the time spent in deep sleep (light sleep is still dreaming about surgery and patients), most of the waking hours are spent on work or work-related matters. A doctor who puts his heart and soul into his profession can be trusted and entrusted with the lives of his patients!  The doctor’s dedication is rewarded by the patient’s recovery, and the doctor’s sense of accomplishment and pride when the patient recovers smoothly or even beyond expectations. Each healed patient is a seed that returns to a normal life, where it takes root and blossoms, constantly transmitting the doctor’s various messages and positive energy. Thank you for the trust of my patients and families, your trust is a great inspiration to doctors!