Things I Think Doctors Should Understand 
About Their Patients

One of the most basic human needs is our desire for relationships with people.  God wired us this way.  This is the very reason He even created Adam and Eve so He could have fellowship and companionship with beings like Him.  Whether it’s with family, friends, or significant others, our desire for human connection is an instinct God has given us.  Yes, relationships take hard work.  Where everyone involved has to learn when it’s their turn to give and when it’s time to receive.  Without those relationships, we’ll feel a void.  When you have a chronic illness, you add doctors to the list of relationships you have. 

I don’t know if it’s because I have been on doctor overload the past couple of months, but it’s been on my mind quite a bit as to what I think doctors should understand about their patients. I truly believe it’s no accident who my doctors are. God brought them into my life to care for me because He knew they were the exact physicians I needed in my life.  This is so evident to me when I look back on my journey and see how they entered my life at the perfect time.  For these reasons, I believe that’s where my thoughts have evolved. These opinions have come from years and years of seeing specialists, but remember these are just my opinions— you, my readers, might disagree with me and that’s okay.  If you have a chronic illness and you have had these same thoughts and feelings then I hope my words will give you the encouragement to know you aren’t alone.

 Over the next few weeks I want to share what I believe doctors need to understand about their patients, because this is another way people with chronic illnesses can be more than their mountains- by understanding ways we can strengthen our patient/doctor relationships. I firmly believe when a doctor has the perspective of a patient, it’ll add another layer of compassion to how they practice medicine— and this is what I hope my blog posts achieve in the weeks to come

1.    We Want a Relationship with Our Doctors that Has Depth:

I have had two types of doctors in my life.  The one who comes in, we have a conversation about my life, what exciting things I’m involved in and I in turn ask them about their life and how they are doing. Then there’s the one who comes in and we get down to brass tax- this how you’re doing, this is what needs to be changed in your patient care, see you in six months.  Want to take a guess as to which specialist with whom I have more of a connection?  Don’t misunderstand me, I realize there are doctor/patient lines that can’t be crossed, but when a doctor wants to invest in their patient, to get to know them aside from their medical relationship, it helps the patient feel more comfortable and have another level of trust in the care they are getting. 

I was six years old when my disease began significantly pronouncing

itself in my body.  It was a new and frightening experience, but what helped with my anxiety was the relationship I had with my rheumatologist at the time.  Every visit I had with him, he would come in, sit me on the examine table, look at my mom and say, “Okay, mom you just sit over there and stay quiet; Whitney and I need to chat for a few minutes.” And that’s what we did.  We talked about school, shoes, clothes, how my sister was doing— how life was outside of my disease and because of this, I was comfortable and ready when it came to discuss how my health was doing. 

Now as an adult, the way my doctors invest in me is different, but because I know they care about my life outside of my disease, I’m comfortable with the care they are giving me.  When a huge milestone in my life happens, they are on the list of people I want to share it with, because they celebrate with me.  This is the crux of the matter really.  The doctors who makes the biggest impact are the ones who not only care about the medical side of our journey, but the quality of our life and our self-worth.