Every once in a while you will encounter a challenging patient who stumps you. You are not sure about the diagnosis, and you are not sure what to do next. Often our knee-jerk reflex is to try to cover up our ignorance, for example, by ordering more tests in order to buy time , so we can figure out what's happening. While we have been taught the medical protocol of how to tackle difficult and complex challenges, we also need to remember that it's equally important to manage the patient's feelings.
The poor patient is worried, and is now even more scared , because you cannot give his illness a name. This uncertainty just makes a bad problem even worse, but rather than shy away from this fact, you need to acknowledge this upfront. The Medical Director and Dean of Bai Jerbai Wadia Children's Hospital, has this pearl to share. He suggests that you need to step back, and tell the patient,…
