The best part of being a primary care doctor is the innumerable encounters that happen every day. Recalling these encounters (at least some) brings you joy at the end of a busy day. There is something new in each patient encounter – be it love, strength or humor.

A 92-year-old diabetic in the doctor’s office-
Doc: Mrs. Birk, your HbA1C went up, it’s 9 now
Patient: Doc, I know why my HbA1C went up.
Doc: Why?
Patient: I have been having chocolate cravings recently, I am eating M&M.
Doc: That’s fine, it’s a small chocolate.
Patient: Yes, but I am eating 2 M&Ms every 15 minutes…

The key to a patient’s wellbeing lies in the relationship between a patient and the doctor. Both of them need to come to a shared decision making of how to make things work and what each one is willing to contribute to get the best outcome. It goes a long way to have such a trusted relation where the patient can admit their problem without getting judged which saves both time and unnecessary tests. Just imagine a sweet old lady with her M&M packets, relishing them. She has been working hard for most of her life, now she is enjoying M&M, can’t she have this much of luxury? Numbers don’t speak everything, finding the actual reasons behind the numbers is more important. Trust is to be earned with respect, love and being non-judgmental. Life is hard on everybody, so it’s ok to cut slack sometimes.

In another world, an old couple comes for a regular office visit. An 85-year-old man came to the office for knee pain from osteoarthritis, accompanied by his wife. When the doc turned the conversation to his relationship with his lovely wife, his eyes blinked with love. He recalled his first encounter with her- ‘She was cutting grass in her lawn when I saw her on a bright sunny day in June. She looked fresh, vibrant and there was a glitter in her eyes. I asked her out for a picnic party the next day and we have been having a great time since then – even after 60 years of marriage. I married the best of out of the 3 sisters- he giggled.’ ‘Yes, you did, honey’- the wife replied cleaning his glasses with a small piece of cloth- a smile created ripples in her cheeks. She had a small purse in her hand which contained his med list, a tiny diary with his doctor’s appointments, his glass case and some more useful stuff. This is the kind of love which is not there in the Instagram but is sitting silently on a couch under a blanket, watching old movies and remembering the good old days.

Life is not hard, you just have to remain positive, relish the simple joys of relationships and it will run smooth. It will go on and will wait for none…

If you like this article, please take some time to have a look at my other articles here.

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