Professionalism

5.1 Demonstrate compassion, integrity and respect for others

I always strive to be as compassionate and respectful with all patients as possible, and my psychiatry consult rotation at OSU East Hospital really showed the importance of that goal. In contrast to what I had seen on most of my other services, many of the patients that I saw on this service could be very challenging to deal with. They were often abrasive, combative, and actively ungrateful. It is very easy to be compassionate and respectful towards patients that are friendly and cooperative, but it is much more challenging to do so when a patient may actively be insulting you or raising their voice at you. Additionally, many of these patients have been in the hospital repeatedly as a result of their own behaviors, which can be frustrating for the medical team. Although we can remind ourselves that logically, these patients may have underlying psychiatric, personality, or addiction disorders that are contributing to or causing their behaviors, it is still exceptionally difficult to not be personally affronted when a patient is difficult. However, these patients are every bit as deserving of respect as any other patient.

One thing that really opened my eyes and helped illustrate that point is getting collateral from many of these patient’s families. Often their families were concerned for their family member’s health and mental well being and and very appreciative of whatever help we could provide. A mother of a patient that I spoke with talked to me at length about how her son had once been doing very well and she was so alarmed that he was now having so many issues. It really helped me to realize that even the most problematic patients may have someone who cares for them and is desperately hoping that they will get better. Trying to center myself on that makes it much easier to not get hung up about any negative encounters that I might have with patients. Over the course of the rotation I found that it became progressively easier to build rapport with these patients and stay empathetic despite any difficulties. This was reflected in my CPA comments and overall ring evaluation, and I actually attained a letter in psychiatry. It is definitely an experience that will continue to inform my interactions with patients in the future and helped provide me with context to assist with maintaining professionalism in the future. A goal I have is to continue to get collateral for patients when indicated and appropriate to not only inform what the patient’s baseline clinical state was like, but also to help maintain that empathy in the future.