Now I have a better one....
Like many family physicians these days, I don't do hospital/inpatient medicine, but I do keep tabs on those patients so I can resume/continue their care once they are released. So today get a message today from the son of a woman with a terminal illness that is rapidly progressing, and she likely won't make it out of the hospital. The office staff wrote "Son called, his mother's condition is deteriorating, and she probably won't make it out of the hospital; would like to see family doc one more time. . . . [ man, this is touching
]. . . . and the hospital says they won't allow this - what can he do....???"What...???? How dare they shut me out of the hospital like that....!!! I know that most inpatient care is now provided by dedicated hospitalists, along with whatever disease-specific specialists are appropriate, but I provide the other, albeit less critical, 95% of their lifetime care, and should be a respected member of the health-care team. I go from flattered, to sad, to mad....
Then I see the smudge on the paper......the REAL message is "Son called, his mother's condition is deteriorating, and she probably won't make it out of the hospital; would like to see family dog one more time, and the hospital says they won't allow this - what can he do....???"
Now I go from feeling flattered, to sad, to mad. . . to feeling stupid....
