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How many times have you cried
- Thread starter doozbot
- Start date
not crying doesn't equal lacking emotions. I have not cried during med school/residency but it doesnt mean I have not felt like sh$t talking to the family or feeling very sad for the family/patient.
You learn to handle it. Is part of your training. You have to keep focus on your job as you have other patients to see that depend on you 100%.
You learn to handle it. Is part of your training. You have to keep focus on your job as you have other patients to see that depend on you 100%.
some people cry and some don't, either way is OK. you get used to it after a while but it always feels crappy when you lose a patient. it is true that it seems people in residency rarely speak about it. when patients were lost during med school rotations or during internship, everyone would say "that's too bad" or "he/she was so young" but then move on to doing the rest of the day's work, and that was the end of it. if it bothers you to the point that it's detracting from work, there usually is a counseling program offered to residents. it's supposed to be confidential, although i've heard otherwise. talk to your friends/spouse, or even your co-interns after-hours.
not sure if you've ever seen a person die before, or if you had just meant you're losing the first patient that you've had ownership of. if you get lots of geriatric patients in your ICU, you will be gauranteed to lose patients in your ICU rotation. many have DNR's or partial DNR's, or families eventually decide to withdraw care. it's a little different though, because there was a choice, while other people die despite your full efforts. you will also see throughout the year that codes almost never end well. it's part of the job, but crying is OK as long as you are able to go on to finish your work.
not sure if you've ever seen a person die before, or if you had just meant you're losing the first patient that you've had ownership of. if you get lots of geriatric patients in your ICU, you will be gauranteed to lose patients in your ICU rotation. many have DNR's or partial DNR's, or families eventually decide to withdraw care. it's a little different though, because there was a choice, while other people die despite your full efforts. you will also see throughout the year that codes almost never end well. it's part of the job, but crying is OK as long as you are able to go on to finish your work.
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I've been an attending for 28 years, and every year there's one or two patients that I connect with for any number of reasons. Watching those people pass away is always hard emotionally-- and it needs to be. Conversely, though the daily routine of medicine hardens you, the joy that you feel periodically when dealing with patients makes it worth it.
