EMBRACING THE ROLES OF MEDICINE
Baby Steps to Trust : A Pediatrician ’ s View
I
remember the first time I really felt how much trust a family could place in me . I had been taking care of a child in the pediatric ICU for nearly a month . He had been recovering from a terrible snake bite and was finally on the mend — we had been steadily making progress reducing his supports . However , the new attending on service felt it was time for him to have a tracheostomy . He made the recommendation to the family at bedside during morning rounds . As I stood nearby later doing cleanup paperwork , my patient ’ s parents pulled me aside and asked , “ What do you think ? Does he need to have this surgery ?”
10 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE by JEFF MEYER , MD
Suddenly , my opinion mattered , despite my much more experienced attending ’ s recommendation . In the moment , I felt mostly nervous about how to answer since I disagreed with his assessment ; it was only after our conversation that I came to realize how much confidence that family had in me , a lowly second-year pediatrics resident who felt like he was just trying to stay afloat . While I ’ m sure I ’ d garnered trust earlier in my training , this was the first time I realized – or at least , truly felt – that trust . But how do we , as doctors , work to build such trust ? I believe that pediatricians have both unique challenges and advantages in doing so .
Trust is essential in all medical careers . Our roles as physicians are complex . We need both foundational and experiential knowledge ; however , we must also refine our knowledge in light of an evolving corpus of professional information . Many of us require refined techniques , practiced dexterity and specialized equipment