Читать книгу How to be Your Doctor’s Favorite Patient - David Claytor - Страница 10

Dr. Dean Reitermann knew Martin Folsom was angry even before the patient began speaking: his uncombed morning hair stood out in mean porcupine-like spikes, his jaw was clenched with muscles that were visibly kneading across the bones, and his icy blue eyes glowered from behind glasses that sat slightly askew on his nose. With an optimistic smile, Dr. Reitermann extended his hand in a cheery greeting: “How are you today, Mr. Folsom? Nice to see you.”

“Humph,” he snorted. “Why don’t you stop this damn buzzing in my ear? Then it’ll be nice to see you.”

Dr. Reitermann began to wonder if he should ask Lynn, his office nurse, to come into the room. But being 6’ 2” and 200 pounds and having a black belt in karate made him confident that he need not be afraid of his slender young patient. “Let me take a look at you, then,” the doctor said, and began to peer with his otoscope into Martin’s left ear.

“What are you doing?” shouted Martin as he grabbed the physician’s arm and pushed it away. “You’re trying to plant some kind of radio in my head, aren’t you?”

Dr. Reitermann glanced down at Martin’s chart and now was reminded that the young man suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was under the care of a psychiatrist. “Martin, have you been taking the medication that Dr. Carver prescribes for you?”

“Medication, medication, medication, medication,” he chanted. “You and him are trying to poison me.”

“No, of course not, we…”

But before the physician could finish his response, Martin snatched the chart from his hand and began ripping it up. “I’m destroying your plan!” he shouted.

Martin threw the shredded document into the doctor’s face. “Stay away from me!” Martin yelled as he reached out his arm and with one sweep knocked the canisters off the equipment tray.

Shards of glass, wooden tongue blades, and cotton balls now littered the floor, and the noise of the crash brought Lynn into the room. “What’s going on in here?” she asked as Martin ran past her.

“Nothing a little haloperidol won’t fix,” replied the shaken physician. A call to the patient’s psychiatrist soon resulted in Martin’s commitment to a hospital, until he was back on his medication and no longer a threat to others.

Violence in the workplace, while itself not common, is becoming a common source of anxiety among workers. Widely publicized incidents like an ex-postal employee who kills his former boss with an automatic weapon have made us all fearful for our own safety. A worker angry about being laid off, a customer spewing epithets over a defective product, or a colleague upset over a perceived insult can all trigger this fear.

Physicians and their staffs sometimes encounter verbal abuse from distraught patients, which can occasionally escalate into physical violence. In particular, physicians and clinic employees who perform abortions are terrified of this possibility. Regardless of one’s stand on abortion, one has to condemn such violence. And just remember, if you should happen to have an altercation with your physician, he knows where your vital organs are located and how to get to them!

 Do remember that violence is not justified no matter how upset you are.

 Do discuss your feelings with your physician if you’re upset about something.

 Don’t be surprised if your doctor dismisses you as a patient if you’ve been verbally or physically abusive in the office.

 Do talk with a counselor or pastor if you continue to be angry with your doctor and his staff, rather than resort to violence. And, as a last resort, talk with your lawyer; while doctors hate to be sued, we’d rather be sued than shot.