How do you want your doctor to act in a crisis? A lesson from Haiti
Just after the Haiti crisis struck and the cameras made their way through to the rescue and recovery efforts in the devastation, I was up late and mesmerized by the coverage on a special relief episode of "Oprah."
Wyclef Jean spoke passionately about the strength of the people from his homeland. Rihanna sang and there were many emotional pleas and information about how to turn our time and attention and resources over to these people in need.
But what really brought me to tears was the dispatch from CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Dr. Gupta, a neurosurgeon, reported from Port-au-Prince, while treating people in field hospitals and tending to injured victims of the earthquake who were wandering the streets.
My heart ached when he explained that he'd been stopped by someone who begged him to examine a 15-day old baby who suffered a head injury in the chaos.
I gasped when I heard this. It had already been so overwhelming to consider the hundreds of thousands of lives taken in the quake, the undetermined number of children orphaned by all those deaths, and the scrambling to uncover people who might somehow be alive under collapsed buildings days later. The idea of a newborn...how was she even alive?
What came next was one of the simplest gestures of compassion I think I've ever seen a doctor take. Dr. Gupta approached the baby, slowly eased her into the cradle of his own arms, and spoke calmly and decisively to her.
He said something like, "Hello, I am Dr. Sanjay Gupta. I am going to examine you now, baby."
This is not an exact quote, but I remember clearly that he said his name -- "I am Dr. Sanjay Gupta" -- and then the emotion swelled up in me and poured out in tears.
He treated this child like a human being, not a victim, not as if she was breathing her dying breath, not as if she could not understand him with only 15 days of tumultuous living. He was matter-of-fact and still tender. He was assured and assuring and still soft.
I was so moved by his presence of mind and heart as he carefully unwrapped the gauze bandage on her head, did neurological tests to determine the extent of her injuries and how much care she would need.
Miraculously -- or perhaps as a sign that some babies and spirits are stronger than we credit them, even in those earliest of days -- the baby girl was not hurt. Dr. Gupta handed her off, assessing that she was going to be just fine.
The horror of Haiti is still, these weeks later, not nearly over. The kind of care Dr. Gupta and countless others are providing to help people survive and will eventually offer to stabilize a country that was already in great need, will take many years and lots of commitment.
In this, I wonder if there is something we are seeing from these reports that we can bring back to our country, to the way we care for those people suffering from trauma and devastation and life-threatening injuries and illnesses.
I think there are a lot of doctors who could learn a great deal about how to (literally and figuratively) handle patients by the footage of Dr. Gupta and the Haitian newborn. Would your doctor be so assertive and respectful if you were the person in crisis?
I chose my doctor eight years ago after a colleague explained in detail how his demeanor impacted her when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She originally chose him on the list of in-network physicians because of his credentials and reputation in the practice. But it was his bedside manner when he was treating her during the biggest health crisis of her life that made her know he was a stellar doctor. I had no hesitation in making him my doctor as well after hearing her story, and through ups and downs of my own, he has certainly proven her right again and again.
I hope I never have to see it in action, but I feel confident about the way my doctor would handle a more serious situation or even a national crisis. Do you?
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[photo via: Oprah.com]
