Doctor-Patient Relationship

Doctors’ visit: family medicine and doctor-patient relationship

Some has described building a therapeutic doctors-patient relationship as art of medicine . A harmonious doctor-patient relationship is especially indispensable for primary care practitioners as these relationships will usually be maintained for years. Therefore, family doctor visit is a precious experience to learn about the role of primary care and get an insight of real practice in family medicine.

Expectations of the attachments before the visit

Never have I been to doctor attachment in family medicine. All my expectations of visit comes from my daily experiences of seeing doctor, as a patient. I thought most of the patients in this attachment were only suffered from common

The patient had do some research about urethral infection in the internet, therefore insisted on taking urine sample and having a urine test. The doctor explained that it is unnecessary as it takes a week to have the test results back. Also, the test does not affect diagnosis of urethritis, it only helps to identify which bacteria causes the infection.

Through this case, I realized that with advanced technology, the internet provides patient with massive information of the disease. Patients know more about their diseases. However, it is direly difficult for patients to distinguish whether the information is true and suitable for their conditions. Therefore, as a medical professional, despite accurate diagnosis and providing correct medical information to patients, providing patient-centered care is equally important. As autonomy of patients is more concerned nowadays, medical paternalism is no longer accepted 3. Although there is a Chinese saying of “Doctors are as benevolent as parents”, what doctors think is the best treatment may not be the best for patients. Doctors have to understand more about patients’ situations including “ICE – ideas, concerns and expectations” through effective doctor-patient communication. A simple illustration of patient-centered care in this doctor attachment is the patient can choose between more powerful drugs

One of the most challenging parts of family medicine is the limitation in investigations or examinations in the clinic. Simple investigations like electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood test also may not be able to be carried out in a clinic. It increases the difficulty of diagnosis for family doctors. Thus, they have to be more clinically experienced in order to make accurate diagnosis with these limited resources. One of the most impressed case shared by Dr. Po is a young child suffered from Stevens Johnson syndrome, which is a fatal cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction . However, as the symptoms are not distinctive at first and the child could not express his feelings clearly, Dr. Po diagnosed him as allergy. After a few hours, the child’s condition deteriorated so quickly, so Dr. Po referred him to A&E, but the child could not be saved at the end. Without much investigations, it is difficult to distinguish whether the patient is severe and urgent or not. Clear expression of patient and effective communication is also indispensable in making diagnosis. Although I know I cannot save all the patients in my career life, I would still serve each patients whole-heartedly and observe every signs of patients to help me make accurate