Australian Doctor Australia Doctor 18th August 2017 | Page 32
Guest Views
OPINION
DR PAM RACHOOTIN
It’s a two-way thing
Is there really
a power
imbalance in
the doctor–
patient
relationship?
O
NE
of
the
heart-warming
aspects of my
recent
CCU
stay for a post-mitral valve
and tricuspid valve repair is
the response of friends and
patients. Boundary police
can stop reading now.
Trained to sniff out any ink-
ling of normal human inter-
actions, they will no doubt
be dismayed and horrified
by the acts of kindness that
I received.
What can I say? After
28 years of caring for my
patients, they rallied when I
was down and out. Late one
afternoon, having made the
supreme effort to attend my
own doctor’s appointment,
I returned home to find that
the front door looked like a
shrine.
Flowers, gifts, cards, cas-
seroles. And that became the
norm. My freezer filled up
with homemade soups of all
varieties. My patients, who
knew I had survived nine
days in intensive care, were
now worried that I might
not be able to withstand the
more extreme risk posed by
my husband’s cooking.
I had care packages
comprising beef stew, fish
pie, moussaka, lasagne
and a dish called ‘Invalid
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Chicken’. The invalid, I
believe, referred to me, not
the chicken. There were
deliveries of fresh fruit,
sweets, cards, emails, origi-
nal poems, and even a car-
toon by an artist friend to
cheer me up.
Having
migrated
to
Adelaide 34 years ago, not
knowing a soul here, now I
found a whole community
supporting me. It has been a
truly moving experience.
Whenever I met a patient
in the street, I was greeted
with overwhelming kind-
ness and genuine concern.
Because my practice was
built on word-of-mouth,
everyone seemed to be
informed (or misinformed)
about my condition.
The caring that I had
extended was now radiating
back to me. A retired physio
took me on my first walk
THE CARING THAT
I HAD EXTENDED
WAS NOW
RADIATING BACK
TO ME.
outside the house, and care-
fully counted the minutes I
was prescribed to exercise,
encouraging rest stops as
needed on the way back.
When I began seeing
patients again, I decided
that I could not afford to
contract a respiratory infec-
tion with a sternum that
would take weeks to heal
and threatened dehiscence
with every cough or sneeze.
I screened patients on
booking to make sure they
wouldn’t compromise my
already fragile health.
My patients understood
and went elsewhere if
required. We laughed over
their doctor who had a new
niche practice, one in which
sick people were forbidden.
I question those who
define the doctor–patient
relationship as one of a
power imbalance.
In my case, I would define
the interaction as a recip-
rocal warm healing rela-
tionship that is mutually
sustaining.
As
medicine
moves
toward an impersonal, busi-
ness model, I am thankful
that I have practised under
the old paradigm. It is fast
becoming the road less trav-
elled.
For me, it has made all the
difference. ●
Dr Rachootin is a GP in SA.
32
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