Index Title:

RDELEON’s Medical Anecdotal Report [05-01]

MAR Title:

            Father’s concerns       

Date of Observation:

February 20, 2005

 Narration

            It was relatively an easy night and we were manning the ER, when JP 8 M came in with his father due to a cut on the head.  He accidentally bumped into a wall sustaining a 2 cm cut on the left occipital area. I examined the wound and gave the necessary treatment for the child.

             As part of the management of the patient, I requested for a skull x-ray and explained to the father that the x-ray was not functioning due to the water problem that the hospital was experiencing for the past few days. He said to me “Anong bang klasing ospital ito?” I told him “Pagpasensyahan na lang po di po talaga magagamit ang X-ray ng walang tubig.”

             I gave the father a prescription for Anti Tetanus Serum and Tetanus Toxoid since the hospital doestn’t have any. And he told me “Kala ko ba libre lahat dito eh bakit nyo ko pinabibili nya?’ I explained to his the need for giving the tetanus vaccine and that the services and all that the hospital can give will be for free and the patients will shoulder those that the hospital doesn’t have but needed. He then answered me the he too sustained a cut on the head and suturing was done at the PGH but he wasn’t given any anti tetanus vaccine.            

            Was this man really trying to irritate me! I told to myself that probably he was just asking this questions not to irritate me but instead he was just concern about his son or maybe he really doesn’t have the money to buy the medications that I asked for.  I examined the father and realized that he really doesn’t have the money at that moment so I told him that his boy was alright and that the anti tetanus can be given tomorrow and they can come back next day for the boy to have it.

 INSIGHT (Physical, Psychosocial, Ethical)(Discovery, Stimulus, Reinforcement) 

             People have different ways of dealing with different kinds of situation, a defense mechanism. Like this father, his way of compensating for the lack of money was by asking too many questions to a point of making a big deal out of nothing. In this kind of situation, this father need not to be scolded but he needs to be understood. Explaining the whole situation and assuring that his boy was Ok was a way of approaching him.

            Patients are called as such for they need a lot of patience from the people around them. And as for us doctor we need to have tons of patience for our patients.