(HOST) Commentator Claire Ankuda says that her first course at UVM’s College of Medicine provided – among other things – a valuable reality check in ethics and expectations.
(ANKUDA) I find it hard to believe that I’ll ever be transformed into the story book doctor who wears the indestructible armor of infallible judgment underneath a neatly creased white coat. After all, the role of modern physician often seems paradoxical to me: studies show that, more than anything else, patients want their doctors to be communicative and empathetic.
However, the threat of medical error haunts the classroom when we future doctors discuss ethical dilemmas in care. In part to avoid legal complications, we are told to make the patient’s autonomy in decision making our number one priority; yet we also know that Americans spend an estimated 7.2 billion dollars a year on inappropriate medications for the elderly alone.
In our first seminar on medical ethics, discussion came to a standstill when the professor asked us to choose between deceiving a patient into believing his wife is dead, so that he may be rushed to the ER for an operation – or watching him refuse care to stay with his wife as she dies an inevitable death. Okay, so the example was inspired by a clip from the television show "ER." But still, the question illustrates a terrible dilemma: do we listen to the patient no matter what, or do we do what we’re sure will be best for them?
I’m delighted to say that we were not expected to reach a prescribed conclusion. When a classmate questioned our professor about what he would do in such a situation, the doctor paused and slowly said, "When I am forced to choose between A and B, I try my hardest to find a C, to try talking to the patient again, to find a more creative answer."
In preparing for medical school, I’ve had to immerse myself in the scientific basis of medicine, but I am just beginning to learn it’s art.
I’m learning not to ignore doubt, to navigate indecision, and, in times where there seems to be no good solution, to return to the patient for guidance.
Not bad for a first lesson.
Claire Ankuda of Springfield, is a first year medical student at UVM.