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Category: February 2020

For February, we asked members to share a story with us about building trust. Whether it was a memory about successfully fostering trust between colleagues or a tale about securing trust with a patient, our members agree that being honest and genuine to the best of your ability is key to success.

Patient Safety Scenario #20: Mistakes are Everywhere

This essay is the 20th installment of the monthly Patient Safety essays, produced by the Patient Safety Subcommittee of the Ethics and Professionalism Committee. The essays are written in the spirit of the aviation industry’s concept that while the captain is the “captain of the ship”, everyone on the team needs to be on the lookout […]

Trust and Lifelong Learning

By Robert Harold Ablove, MD “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?” The above quote is from Hillel the elder, a second century Rabbi. It has largely informed my career. The purpose of my career has been […]

Trust and My Patient, JB

By James H. Calandruccio, MD Trust. JB makes me think about his examination room door jamb height and date marks at my clinic in room number 3. At his last office visit, JB, who was 17 years old and soon to be graduating from high school, wanted the final opinion on what could be done […]

Physician as Businessman: 19th Century to the 21st Century

By Donald C. Faust, MD The value of our service as physicians is difficult to quantify. Unlike other businesses, we are under a moral obligation to provide our services. We are expected to be available 24 hours per day and yet provide perfect care. Continuing medical education is a must. The government bodies are mandating […]

Honesty and Open Minds

By Margaret Woon Man Fok, MD Trust between a patient and a doctor can be very delicate. It can be broken by one unintentional clinical misjudgment. Once broken, it can take a long time to rebuild trust that patients have in their clinicians. Recently, I came across a case from one of my juniors: The patient […]

Protecting the Arch

By Nick Iannuzzi, MD As surgeons, we are privileged. It may be possible to lose sight of our privilege during the daily toil of charting and calling for peer-to-peer authorizations; however, patients seek our help in periods of weakness and discomfort. They find us in their most vulnerable moments and ask us to cut them, to remove […]

Two Cases

By Orhan Kaymakcalan, MD Case 1: Patient is a 54-year-old male admitted with a diagnosis of acute renal failure, rhabdomyolysis, severe upper G.I. bleeding, and dry gangrene on both upper and lower extremities. By the time he was admitted, he had been rejected by one hospital and transferred by another. The patient stated he was […]

Trust No One. Suspect Sabotage.

By Nina Lightdale-Miric, MD During my general surgery internship, this concept was offered as dogma. The ability to be self-reliant was taught as critical of a skill as examining a patient or suturing. This perspective helped shape my understanding of personal accountability as the physician in the care of patients. Delegation was a risk as it […]

Trust Comes From Truthfulness

By Victoria R. Masear, MD It was a routine clinic at the University, ending at about 6 pm. There was a new hand fellow on my service. He had been with us 3 months, but this was his first day with me. I also had a new PA who had only previously done spine. I […]

Honesty Begets Trust

By Amy L. Speeckaert, MD “Can you see the motor branch and be sure that you’re protecting it?” I asked my fellow as he held a rongeur in his hand, ready to excise fragments of a fractured hook of the hamate. “I need to sit where you’re sitting,” he said. Oh, man, I thought, I […]