• Question: Do you find it difficult to seperate your feelings and work, for example how do you deal with a patient dying?

    Asked by Emilybaggott to Ali on 4 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Ali Blatcher

      Ali Blatcher answered on 4 Nov 2017:

      This is a brilliant question Emily. Sometimes on the hospital wards you see your patients everyday and it can be upsetting when they pass away unexpectedly. However with most patients in elderly care where I work then the deaths are expected.
      As junior doctors you have to certify the patients, I.e. check that they are not breathing anymore, and I always try and use this opportunity to say rest in peace to the patient, which helps me.
      I did cry once when a patient died, and it’s important to remember that it’s okay to have feelings. But it does get easier with time and practice to develop a certain distance as a doctor and to not get emotionally involved.
      Hope that helps!

Comments

  • Photo: Phil

    Phil commented on :

    It’s really easy to take the emotion of your day home with you. Two top tips for this:

    1) it’s really important to work in a team who supports you and you can have a good chat to about stressful situations, or when something just makes you feel really sad. It’s normal to feel sad when a patient you’ve looked after for some time dies, or when a mistake happens (which happens to everyone at some point!). Having a good talk with someone who you work with really helps me to learn from these experiences, whether they’re positive or negative.

    2) Also, it’s really important to have hobbies outside of work. I find going to gym really helps me unwind! If all you do is work then you’ll get very stressed and unhappy. You need to have balance in your life too.

  • Photo: Deborah

    Deborah commented on :

    Yes it can be hard at times. In order to care for your patients you have to have some feelings for what they are experiencing, but it would be exhausting to take it all home with you. Fortunately my husband works in healthcare and we can chat about things.
    There are certain patients who stick in your memory for varying reasons, often I get affected by people who may have some similarities in their life to my own family.
    I have been fortunate enough to sit with several patients and their families when they have died, it’s not always easy and everyone is different. I feel very strongly that no one should ever die alone, and as a Nurse I have always made this a priority when I was working on a hospital ward.
    In General Practice you can easily become much more attached to your patients as you care for them over the years. I have attended the funerals of one or two I supported. I also often have the opportunity to support their relatives as well as they are also my patients.