How can I and my patients “be happy every day instead of worrying for 50 years”?

  From 2000 as an intern doctor began to contact clinical work, to now has been 15 years, the daily process of consultation and treatment for patients, but also the process of communication, now look back, a face in front of the eyes, a variety of stories, mixed with aggression, regret, touch, joy, three days and nights can not be finished.  First, let me tell you about my experience of walking away from the wheat city.  I remember that when I first started to be a graduate student in gastroenterology, I was responsible for managing a patient in the respiratory ward when he was transferred to the department. He was a farmer in his early 30s who was hospitalized with a diagnosis of pneumonia because of a cough and was enrolled in a drug trial program to receive free antibiotic treatment. During his hospitalization, we found that his laboratory tests were high in blood glucose and considered that he might have diabetes and needed a consultative eye examination to clarify whether he had diabetic fundopathy. I took the consultation sheet, walked into the room, and explained that he needed to go to the ophthalmology consultation. The patient got angry and said, “I used to be in good health, and this time I just have a cough, but you have to say I am diabetic and ask me to look at my eyes ……”. He then said something extremely unpleasant, and I was so angry that I threw the consultation sheet on the bed, turned my head and walked away. The patient immediately complained about my bad attitude and sued my supervisor. Later, through the guidance of my mentor, leaders and colleagues, I realized that I had good intentions but did not achieve good results, and that there was less patient and effective communication in between.  After more than 10 years of practice, now, whether I personally explain the patient to do the examination or let the resident to explain, I will have a better communication effect because I have a principle in my heart to fully inform and fully respect the patient’s choice. When a patient does not understand or refuses a test, there must be a reason behind it, maybe he or she did not explain clearly enough, or the patient has some kind of difficulty or other ideas. If you don’t let yourself get caught up in your emotions, you will be able to solve the problem successfully in many cases.  I am a very serious person. After working for a long time and observing the words and actions of those “happy people” among my colleagues, I found that humor is the best way to spice up my life. When I was in the fever clinic, hepatitis clinic and intestinal clinic, where there was a risk of infectious diseases, and faced with anxious and worried patients, I realized that it was important to bring a happy state of mind to work, because happiness is contagious.  Once on the night shift in the fever clinic, a girl from North Medical College came to see a doctor accompanied by her boyfriend from the pharmacy school. When I finished prescribing the drug and was ready to let them go, the boy showed his doubts about the drug I had prescribed, I asked him who he was and said with a smile, “I am sure you can develop a new drug. “He asked, “What kind of medicine? “I said: “Love elixir, sweet talk tid (three times a day), guaranteed to cure the disease. “He laughed and said, “Doctors are so humanistic nowadays.” I said, “The medicine I prescribe only plays a supplementary role, 3 days is not good remember to come to me ah.”  In the hepatitis clinic, I would sometimes play some soothing or upbeat soft music at the lowest volume on my phone, with the patient’s permission of course. It would be unconsciously with a smile, and the patient would say, “Dr. Li, you look so happy.” I said, “Yeah, I’m really happy. Watching you leave with a smile makes me even happier.”  I like to joke with humor, but of course, it depends on the occasion and the person. As the saying goes, “health is important, life is important,” and patients can come to the hospital, to your ward and consultation room, but also because they carry a deep trust and trust.  I remember not long ago, a middle-aged man in the ward had agreed to be discharged, and a new patient had been scheduled, when the bedside doctor suddenly told me that the patient’s family insisted that he would not be discharged. So I invited the family to the consultation room and talked to her alone. I told her that the patient was now stable and did not need to be hospitalized anymore, and told her the truth about the discharge arrangement and the new patient’s urgency to be hospitalized. The female family member said, “I don’t accept that, we are patients too, I took his temperature every 2 hours last night, and his highest temperature was 37.3°C.” I told her that the patient’s temperature can be affected by many physiological factors and that she was currently stable and fully discharged. I asked her if there was something else going on. The female family member said she was worried about him because the patient’s father had died of an unexplained illness at that age. I asked her if it was useful to worry. She said, “But I’m just worried.”  On the topic of worry, I gave an example. A patient with chronic hepatitis B once asked, “Will I get cirrhosis or liver cancer?” I said, “Yes.” He then asked, “When will I get it?” I said, “In 50 years.” He laughed and I said, “Instead of worrying about 50 years, you should be happy every day.” I told him that worry can be transformed, from negative negative worry to positive positive concern, from worrying about your body to caring about your health. There are many, many ways to care, and you can choose to do it yourself or with the help of others, including regular review of physical examinations, paying attention to diet and exercise, regular work and rest and life, and keeping your mood relaxed. I added, “Coming to see me often in the clinic is also a way to care, and I will work with you to figure out how to get the indicators normalized and turn care into reassurance.”  When I indicated to the female family member that the patient’s illness was far less serious than those with liver disease, and told her that discharge was not a matter of leaving him alone, but that she would continue to follow him on an outpatient basis, and specifically informed her of the clinic hours and follow-up arrangements, she said, “When you say that, I am a little more at ease now, and I can accept discharge.”  The process of consulting and accompanying patients is also growing with them, and I have learned a lot from it. Whenever a patient says, “Doctor, I’m counting on you,” I am deeply grateful for the trust given by the patient, and the doctor must treat each patient as a living life. To live up to this trust, doctors must treat each patient as a living life.