Obituaries

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lobelsteve

lobelsteve

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Am I the only one?

In practice since 2005. I treat mostly elderly and do lots of long term management (and Mbb/RF). Average patient age is 70. Looking through paper this am and saw a breast cancer patient’s obit. She was 65. The longer you are in practice the more you will see. Always makes me feel like I can do more for some people.
 
About 2 months ago I had a pt die like 4 days after I saw her. The first thing I did was pull up her chart to make sure I didn't kill her, and afterwards I realized how pathetic that was of me bc I go out of my way to practice cleanly and not expose ppl to unneccessary risk. I've had a few pts die, and I too mostly see older pts and I'm probably 65% MBB/RFA. I've never checked obituaries though. Usually the family calls me to notify me.
 
one of the nurses here checks the obits daily and lets me know when my patients die. i think it is a habit, sort of like checking the baseball box scores every day.

on a similar note, i hate seeing patients >100 because they have lived this long, and i dont want to do anything that would kill them. that includes medications, PT, or injections. i have done a few mbbs on centenarians that have helped for months at a time, however.....
 
My wife used to work for a shrink and she would read the obits daily looking for the shrink's patients who killed themselves or accidentally OD'ed.
 
I look at obits every weekend.

A good part is to see if the patients that I refused to take over their opioids show up there, and my elderly patients...
 
I am terrible with names, but faces I would recognize. In terms of contemplating doing more for our elderly patients, I like the idea of trying to schedule more regular visits. In terms of procedures, I try not to let age be a defining factor on what I offer, so long as it would be safe for the individual. I have done two stims on 90+, otherwise healthy, with neuropathic limb pain, and so glad I did- Both implanted and have more independence in their communities. One of the women likes to walk around the pond at the retirement community, and hadn't been able to do that since she arrived there 5 years ago because of pain.
 
Who reads newspapers anymore, seriously?

That being said, I've got a sticky note on my wall with the names of my patients who have died. Helps me keep perspective.
 
lobelsteve said:
Meds, procedures, therapies, counseling. I do not cure cancer, but I can help ease their suffering. Maybe more frequent visits to make sure they are comfortable.
Click to expand...

Yeah, what're your barriers to that? I do a bit of cancer pain care and it's just tough to balance with an unclear prognosis. I am trying to learn not to let it bother me after they're dead, but it's hard.

I also keep a list of my dead folks and it keeps growing, but it reminds me to balance my fears of harming them with their desire to try anything to get better. It's tough to know when it's appropriate to try crazy things, but I try to explain that with the patient and family so they can understand my fears and their options.
 
SSdoc33 said:
one of the nurses here checks the obits daily and lets me know when my patients die. i think it is a habit, sort of like checking the baseball box scores every day.

on a similar note, i hate seeing patients >100 because they have lived this long, and i dont want to do anything that would kill them. that includes medications, PT, or injections. i have done a few mbbs on centenarians that have helped for months at a time, however.....
Click to expand...

I can sympathize. I have a current patient who is a Pearl Harbor survivor and also fought at Midway. I have 2-3 Omaha beach survivors as well.

The last patients that I would ever want to have a complication.
 
lobelsteve said:
Am I the only one?

In practice since 2005. I treat mostly elderly and do lots of long term management (and Mbb/RF). Average patient age is 70. Looking through paper this am and saw a breast cancer patient’s obit. She was 65. The longer you are in practice the more you will see. Always makes me feel like I can do more for some people.
Click to expand...

We assign reading obituaries, local crime reports, and periodically checking the attendance roster at the local county jail (they're online and public information) to a staff member. We have a bereavement budget for cards and flowers. It's amazing how many patients you'll discover getting arrested for petty theft, DUI's, etc. We put the information in the chart and discuss at the next follow-up visit.
 
271295


My day today, sorted by age. More likely to die from natural causes than having complications resulting from care. Less worried about getting busted.
 
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