“In a hospital like PGI, where the patient load is immense and patients often complain of rude behaviour, doctors can do little things to make the patients feel special,” said Dr Geoffrey Kurland from Pittsburgh, USA, delivering a lecture on doctor-patient relationship at PGI today.
He emphasised that small gestures matter while treating patients, especially children. “It took a brush with death for me to realise what a patient goes through when he is suffering from a disease, especially a chronic one. When I was diagnosed with Hairy Cell Leukemia, a rare condition, and my doctor broke the news to me, I realised that my mind had gone blank and I wasn’t listening to him,” Dr Kurland said.
“I realised that it is important to repeat the diagnosis later, when the patient is out of the initial shock,” he said.
When treating children, Dr Kurland emphasised that a doctor should talk to them first and then ask the patient to introduce his/her parents.
“I always stand up whenever a patient enters my room and make him comfortable,” he said, adding that it is important to be honest with the patients.
“My physicians were honest with me. They didn’t know everything about my disease and told me so,” Dr Kurland recalled.
Dr Kurland said that the quality of life of a patient was more important than the disease or the diagnosis.
“We as doctors must try and help the patient do what he likes best. We must ensure that he enjoys his life, whatever is left of it,” he said.
Dr Kurland has penned his experiences in a book titled My Own Medicine:
A Doctor’s Life as a Patient, published by Times Books.