Do physicians ever attend their patients' funerals?

[def jeff]

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I had a random thought today, I'll admit a morbid one, and that is do doctors ever attend their patients' funerals?

Of course I'm not asking if all doctors attend all patients' funeral services, but do you think this ever happens during long term care?

It came to my mind when I was thinking about my radiation oncology preceptor and all of the fairly advanced lung cancer patients he sees. When I heard him tell several patients that the 3 or 5 year survival rate (can't remember which one they use) was something like 15% it really got me thinking.

Thoughts?

 

[coffeebythelake]

I don't think it would overstep the boundaries of professionalism and the patient-doctor relationship. It probably happens from time to time, especially the patients that have known the doctor for quite a while (e.g., palliative care).

Maybe you should read this article. Its old, but it covers a lot of the "debate".

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpa...op/Reference/Times Topics/Subjects/F/Funerals

 

[osli]

In one of our recent geriatric/end-of-life guest speaker seminars, the physician told us that his standing rule was that someone from his team would attend the funeral of every patient they lost. Whether that was him, a nurse, assistant, etc. varied, but someone always went... typically someone on the team that had spent a lot of time with the patient and had grown particularly fond of him/her and his/her family.

 

[SalseraDoctora]

I think that if you are invited you should go. How disrespectful not to. And hopefully you won't be losing so many patients that it will take up too much of your free time.

My grandmother's cardiologist came to her funeral when she passed away, and it definitely meant a lot to us.

 

[Crazy4F1]

one of my preceptors told us she does attend funerals, if at the request of the family.

 

[Beau Geste]

Sure, especially in small towns.

 

[45408]

I think that if you are invited you should go. How disrespectful not to. And hopefully you won't be losing so many patients that it will take up too much of your free time.

Well, some doctors do work with hospices fairly extensively, so just by the nature of their work, they will lose pretty much all of their patients while they are in their care.


As for the OP, under certain circumstances, yes, I'd attend a funeral of a patient.

 

[OddNath]

Our FP (who is close with my family) came to my brother's funeral, it was a really nice gesture. And I don't actually remember any of us inviting him specifically, he just showed up.

So yeah, I've seen this happen [once]. Personally, though, I don't know if I'd go to every funeral of people who were my patients. Hopefully this won't happen too often in peds...

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

If not the funeral, making an appearance at a wake or a visitation is not uncalled for. I think it's something that depends on your field. I know some FP docs encourage it because of the "Cradle to grave" aspect of their field, but I don't think it's feasible for people in some fields, either because of the nature of work or just plain time commitment. A busy neurosurgeon really can't afford thet ime wait in line for 3 hours to shake hands of a family he's only known a week.

 

[CCLCMer]

I had a random thought today, I'll admit a morbid one, and that is do doctors ever attend their patients' funerals?

Of course I'm not asking if all doctors attend all patients' funeral services, but do you think this ever happens during long term care?

It came to my mind when I was thinking about my radiation oncology preceptor and all of the fairly advanced lung cancer patients he sees. When I heard him tell several patients that the 3 or 5 year survival rate (can't remember which one they use) was something like 15% it really got me thinking.

Thoughts?

Like other people have said, it depends on that doctor and their relationship with that patient. I agree that it's probably more common for doctors in specialties with a long doctor-patient relationship like peds, internal medicine, geriatrics, oncology, etc. But if you're like an ER doc, probably this would not come up so much.

 

[Trooth]

Yes, when invited, they do go if possible.
especially in pallative area like neuro.

 

[ataktos]

One of the physicians whom I have come to admire the most during my journey through med school, a peds heme-onc, states that she does frequently attend the funerals of patients. As other posters have noted, this does seems to vary a great deal based on specialty.

 

[Orthodoc40]

Yes, they do. The physician in charge of our CF team made sure that if he didn't attend every funeral and/or wake, someone did. It probably is more frequent in an area of medicine where chronic illness is the focus?

 

[DarksideAllstar]

I worked for a pediatric oncologist during undergrad who would attend every funeral he was invited to.

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Yes, they do. The physician in charge of our CF team made sure that if he didn't attend every funeral and/or wake, someone did. It probably is more frequent in an area of medicine where chronic illness is the focus?

I think specialists would only feel a need to attend a funeral if they had provided care to a patient for an extended period of time. If you had known the patient or his family for only a very short time, I don't think the gesture is needed. In primary care, I think it's part of the job. An internal medicine physician whom I admire very much never misses a funeral of any of his established patients (he's a tad younger than me, actually, but I want to be like him when I finish growing up!).

Who invites people to a funeral? A family might do that for the deceased's doctor, but they shouldn't have to. I thought you put the notice in the paper and waited to see who decided to show-up (which is where the stories of the unknown mysterious woman in the black veil in the rear pew originated!).

 

[momtwo]

My daughter is an Oncology PA. The Doctors and Mid-level clinicians do sometimes go to funerals. Also what we've seen is the family members closest to the deceased sometimes come and visit the Doctor or PA/NP who they became closest to during the course of the patients illness after the patient has passed away. The area where my daughter works in serves an elderly population so there is that reliance on the medical providers as an outlet. I do think the family members often think of the Doctors etc as friends. I think the nature of cancer - with the many visits for checkups and chemo etc - would just work out this way. I don't think the doc/ PA would be "invited" to the funeral but of course they'd know of the death and they'd try to attend as a form of respect if they possibly could. Come to think of it my daughter does check the obituaries often and that might be the reason. I 'll ask her if she sends cards or what else she and the doctors might do.