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The day that I met you, a friend half-carried you up the wobbling stairs of our mobile health centre, dumping you at our door with your complaint of dolor de pecho (chest pain). I was in one of our two examination rooms when you arrived and, by the time I stepped out of that room, our nurses had giv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ) 2017-11, Vol.189 (44), p.E1366-E1367
Main Author: Stumbar, Sarah E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electrocardiography
Hospitals
Humanities
Humans
Hypertension
Management
Mobile Health Units
Nurses
Physician-Patient Relations
Practice
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The day that I met you, a friend half-carried you up the wobbling stairs of our mobile health centre, dumping you at our door with your complaint of dolor de pecho (chest pain). I was in one of our two examination rooms when you arrived and, by the time I stepped out of that room, our nurses had given you acetylsalicylic acid and hooked your heaving chest up to the electrocardiogram machine. The nurses knew you from before the time I had started working at our clinic, and they briefly told me your story. It only took a few minutes for me to skim your chart and turn from my laptop to hold your hand. If you have an appointment, it's guaranteed that you won't be able to make it in because of the inevitable push and pull of your life. So I expect to see you walk in when you can, a concession that I make for my patients with unpredictable lives.
ISSN:0820-3946
1488-2329
DOI:10.1503/cmaj.170278