Page 24 - Bulletin Fall 2024

Reflections
From Physician to Patient
William Davison, MD davrac4964@gmail.com
Role reversals are sometimes dif- ficult to deal with. The art of going from physician to patient is not al- ways easy. In the past six months, I’ve gone from provider to patient, quickly and exclusively.
When you are used to dictating what happens in an interaction and suddenly become the person who follows the dictates, it is not often easy. I’ve been very lucky to have
physicians who take on this task with grace and patience as well as respect. However, this is not always the case.
Getting older is not for sissies! A very true statement if ever there was one. In the past eight months, I’ve spent more time in doctors’ offices and healthcare facilities than I care to think about. The treatment has been very good overall. However, some things could be improved upon. When you have a 2:00pm appointment and are not seen until 3:20pm, it would help to have a warning as well as a generalized ex- planation. This won’t change the reality, but it helps to know what to expect and why.
The advent of procedural sedation has been an incredibly positive addition to the patient experience. Having done many procedures using this method in the Emergency De- partment makes me feel somewhat guilty that it took so long for us as a profession to adopt this approach. Not only is it much better for the patient but also the doctor.
A patient once told me that the “Golden Years” were so named because that’s when “the doctors separate you from your gold.” As much as insurance is a painful subject for most of us, I can’t imagine life without it. We talk, some- times disdainfully, about the various insurance schemes but imagine where we would be without Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Medicare, etc... I found out recently what this might be like when I had to have some dental care. Well over $6,000 for a single tooth was something I was able to afford but I thought about others who may not be able to do so. All of a sudden, dental insurance seems like it might be a good idea!
For many of our older patients, a visit to the doctor is one of their important social outlets. Imagine seeing that
friendly face whose task it is to help you. On the other hand, imagine a hurried, brusk, and/or poorly-mannered doctor. Would you like to be their patient? How about your staff, are they helping that patient to feel more positive about their experience?
Many people ask me if I miss being an actively practicing physician. I always tell them that I miss the patients, the adrenaline, and the medical mysteries but do not miss the “Bull”!
God bless the doctors who are taking care of me as well as their other patients because one day they, too, will be a patient.
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HCMA BULLETIN, Vol 70, No. 2 – Fall 2024