A patient that made my day!

I have always like the Wednesday Gynae Outpatient clinics. I think its the only time where I can practice history taking and physical examination at my best. No time limit for history taking. And a lot practical stuffs. The registrars are extremely supportive and encouraging. The new SHO of my consultant (for about a week already by now) is friendly but at times very naive. Bless him. He had just come from Paeds and he doesnt even know what CIN is. (It is Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia for you guys out there who doesnt know what it was)

One of the patients I saw in OPD today was a lovely lady requesting for hysterectomy. She's only 44 and is already with many symptoms of pre-menopause. She had endometrial ablation few years ago for her menorrhagia and now it seems like her menorrhagia had make a come back too.

Well, at least that whats on surface.

As I built better rapport with her, she offered me more infos regarding how has all these affected her. Her intimate relationship with her husband has not been so good - terrible mood swings and reduce libido. She is under a lot of stress- full time carer for her mom, holding down two jobs at the same time with two young volatile sons at home.

I felt for her when she said its her family that asked for her to see a doctor regarding her problems. They just think that now her mood swings are getting out of hands. I know she is trying very hard to cope with everything thats happening in her life right now. She is tired most the times but keeps her spirit high by reminding herself that she need to be strong. Otherwise the whole family will collapse.

Imagine the burden that she has to shoulder. Alone.

She fell out with her daughter (18 y-o) and her employee has recently started to question her ability to work her post (limb oedema up to her ankles- fluid retention as part of premenopausal syndrome).

We chatted casually all throughout. Thank God she can still see the brighter side. She is funny in nature. Im sure all these current problems she's having must have tone her down a bit. Or else, she must be such a happy middle aged woman, I think. We had a laugh about few things towards the end of the history taking (you know how one joke leads to another). And she said: "Gosh, that was good laugh. I haven't feel as good as this for a LONG time"

Awww... I just feel like I wanted to hug her at that time. I said: "I'm glad that you felt that way." I truly am. With that, I was all smiles. She really made my day.

Then when I did the speculum and vaginal swabs on her, she again made elated. (sounds wrong, I know, but in a good doctor-patient relationship) She complimented me on my technique of performing the whole thing by saying that I was much better (no even the slightest feeling of discomfort) than most people that had done it on her. Wooohooo..

My registrar said then: "Medical students are reeeeallllllly good these days." And winked at me. How cool is that? Ice cool!

Im grateful to have the chance to know such patient.