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Currently, there are 47 million Americans without health insurance, which limits their ability to seek and access care. For them, the way that they receive healthcare is through free clinics or more commonly, the Emergency Room (ER). Using the ER as their primary form of healthcare is expensive and they do not receive regular or preventative care. This perpetuates the vicious trend of driving up the cost of providing healthcare in America, which then makes health insurance more expensive, leaving more people without health insurance. It is a health policy issue that needs to be addressed. While the death toll itself is a staggering burden, it is only a part of the picture. The rest of the picture is filled with individuals who deal with the complications of both infectious and chronic disease. I find purpose in the day-to-day struggle that physicians encounter in providing individualistic and comprehensive care for their patients. At the end of my day of training as a Vietnamese Interpreter, I went on a face-to-face interpretation in the E.R. with a staff member from interpreting services. I was excited because this is the exact environment in which I will be working. We interpreted for an older woman who came in with pain because she could not pass urine. She had the urge to urinate, but physically was not able to; the plan was to put a catheter in for her because her son told them she was in terrible pain. When we arrived, we checked in with the doctor who had asked for the interpreter service. Upon entering the room, the flustered son was demanding that we help his mother. While the doctor was asking routine questions, the patient kept complaining of the pain, continuously asking for a way to enable her to pass her urine. Dr. X was trying to take control of the situation, asking the patient to pay attention and answer the questions. However, she could not because she could not ignore the pain. When the doctor reached over to touch her, the patient screamed “Don’t touch me!” When the doctor heard the interpretation, she was clearly offended. This made me think of how doctors constantly deal with such patients on a day-to-day basis; they must maintain composure and a sense of professionalism even under such situations. Because the patient was unwilling and unable to answer the doctor’s questions, this created a barrier to providing care. While I agree that the patient should be made comfortable, I understand that the doctor felt the need to understand the symptoms before doing anything so as not to exacerbate the situation. Being a physician means more than understanding the science behind diagnosing and treating disease. The practice and art of medicine requires a holistic approach and understanding of the patent's physical and emotional needs.
-Janet Chu |