My name is Dr. Neha Sharma, and I have a confession.
Recently, a patient was transferred to me from New Mexico. He was found in his house, unresponsive. By the time I admitted him, he was connected to a breathing machine, and had a serious lung infection. Over a course of a few days, his condition improved. We were able to remove his breathing tube and successfully treat his infection. However, he remained weak and debilitated.
One day, as I was making my rounds, I asked him if he would be willing to go to nursing facility to get stronger. He agreed. I was glad and told him we will start working on it. He interrupted and said, “I do want to tell you something, though. I am a registered sex offender. Is that going to change things?”
I got extremely uncomfortable once he revealed this information to me. All of a sudden, I didn’t care if he experienced nausea while eating that morning or was too weak to walk. I walked out of his room and sat down at the nurses station. I started to re-evaluate the situation. I found myself fighting an internal battle and trying really hard not to judge.
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
No comments:
Post a Comment