LEXIAMMA QUESTIONS
By-
Khanij Arya, 4th-year MBBS,
Government Medical College Patiala
Dr Ankit Sharma
MBBS, MD, DM Onco-Anesthesia
- Biggest challenge in patient communication during a busy shift?
> Triage. Triage is the biggest challenge – which questions to take first, and to what extent should I strive to explain.
If I’m doing CPR on one patient, ideally, it should not become pressing need for another patient to know if he/she can have Parle G biscuits with tea at that exact hour. I like to take my time to explain a surgical procedure and the risks involved in detail, but the patient may stay fixated on asking a definite date of discharge, as if my uncertainty is interfering in some future movie plans. Then there’s that small talk about the weather or politics that I’m sure we all can live without.
Lastly, the next time a patient’s attendant shows up with a complaint of “Doc, I can’t sleep.” during a busy night shift, I’m going to lose it.
- Dealing with the emotional toll of tough cases?
> If you’ve had good training in your undergraduate days, you can deal with tough cases easily. My ObGyn posting taught me the importance of yelling at others to maintain my own sanity. My days in Emergency deptt made me realize the value of uninhibited panic while handling wough cases. My Social Medicine exposure helped me to know that if you straight out refuse to do anything, someone else would do it eventually. My Anesthesia exposure tells me that a cup of Tea is the answer to all the stress in life. If in case none of these lessons work, my final coping strategy involves a lot of ice cream and pretending that crying is cardio.
- Biggest barrier to effective teamwork?
> Oh! So many! Romantic tensions, poor handwriting, language barrier, the “I’m more tired than you” victim card, pathetic anatomy pun jokes that make your team want to get you suspended, Not-my-job ideology, etc, etc. Still, our passion for our job and hope for a better tomorrow binds us together, especially when the only thing we can agree on is that we’re all running on caffeine and sarcasm.
- Most common ethical dilemma?
> “What to order for dinner on a night shift?”
- Balancing medical practice with personal life?
>HahahahahaPersonalLifeWhatIsThatHahahahahaha.
(This topic will be dealt in aome extended blogpost on Lexicon later.)
- Addressing burnout?
> A pressing issue, indeed. I try and take a break every now-and-then, spend time with my loved ones, indulge in a hobby, ho shopping, etc.
NAH!! Just kidding. I just accept it, and think about all the bills I have to pay. Then, whenever I get a chance to rest, I do. I’ve found that body ache and crying inconsolably are two extremely potent sedatives.
(Just kidding. Take a break if you and whenever you need to. Your health and your well-being is more important than anything else. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.)
- Handling patient misinformation from online sources?
> It’s like playing whack-a-mole, but the moles have PhDs in conspiracy theories.
- Dealing with non-compliant patients?
> Inviting participation of their family, taking help from seniors, and of course, effective communication, which is spelled as H-A-L-O-P-E-R-I-D-O-L.
- Managing expectations for unnecessary tests or treatments?
> My dear, all tests and treatments are unnecessary for some patients. You get to hear “some of these tests came back normal, the doctor must have prescribed them without any reason” for normal reports and “labs manipulate the reports as per doctors” for abnormal ones. The only acceptable test is looking into a crystal ball, and the only acceptable treatment is the one which has no side-effects, which makes patients lean towards alternate ‘medical’ therapies. For e.g., homeopathy claims that it has no side-effects, but experts also claim that it has no effects at all. So, there’s no way to win this.
