As physicians, we serve as beacons of hope during times of crisis for patients and their families. That honor also comes with the burden of delivering the sobering messages of death and dying. In my humble opinion, this is the most difficult part of being a doctor.
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ACEP Now: Vol 37 – No 06 – June 2018Despite what you may think or may have learned in training, there is never a perfect way to deliver bad news. The only thing you can hope for is that you communicate with respect and empathy, dignifying the life that was lost.
Dr. Thomas is an emergency medicine resident at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California.
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One Response to “Three Tactics to Deal with Emotionally Difficult Cases”
June 17, 2018
Kara Toles, MDWell stated, Dr. Thomas. These are some of the hardest moments that we experience as EM physicians. Thank you for sharing your methods of processing them. I use these same methods and have gotten feedback from multiple members of the team that they are appreciated.