Searching for Meaning in Patient Care

Last night I finished the book When Breath Becomes Air, a memoir by a neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi, which was published after his death at 37 from inoperable lung cancer. It is a deeply moving reflection by a brilliant surgeon who is stunned that his life is cut short just as he is finishing his extensive years of schooling and residency. 

The book could have been written as a bitter, why me account of his cancer, but instead, Dr. Kalanithi moves the reader through a thoughtful examination of the intersection of life and death, the frailty of the human body, and gives a passionate look at the important relationship between providers and patients.

As I moved through the pages, I thought about how little I hear about patients, the actual people as people, who are cared for in our healthcare industry.  Now that’s partly where I sit, away from the point of care, but as I think about the articles I read, the conferences I go to, the stories I hear and very few focus on the individual, the person needing our help, as the center of what we do.  Do you ever feel that way? Overwhelmed by all the to do that the connection to the patient is lost?

Beyond Statistics, Numbers, and Data

Throughout the book Dr. Kalanithi’s writes about his conscious effort to move away from the statistics, numbers, and data entry of patient care to a philosophy called human rationality where the role of the doctor was to understand the whole identity of a person. “Openness to human relationality does not mean revealing grand truths from the apse; it means meeting patients where they are, in the narthex or nave, and bringing them as far as you can,” he said.

I think of healthcare as a calling and believe many of you are in this profession because you feel the same, called to help others. It is easy, though, to fall into the mechanics of a job and easier still to push relationships aside on a busy day. Dr. Kalanithi recognized this internal struggle between time, priorities, and humanity.  His personal introspection moved him to recognize the patients, the people, as his priorities. He understood that failing to treat with empathy and focus likened him more to a factory worker fixing widgets than a doctor caring for people.

Yes, it’s pretty heavy stuff, but there are steps we can take personally and with our staff to move how we approach relationships with the people in our care The other week, as the ICAHN professional education team discussed our preceptor academy there was talk about how new hires didn’t know or didn’t feel comfortable talking to patients.  It’s not taught in school, but it can be learned, taught, reflected, and modeled by you.

Striving to Do Your Best

As I close, here is one more quote by Dr. Kalanithi, “Even if you are perfect, the world isn’t. The secret is to know that the deck is stacked, that you will lose, that your hands or judgment will slip, and yet still struggle to win for your patients. You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving.”  All we can do is do one better.  That’s how I see it this week from where I sit.