Getting to yes

 By the time I finished high school, I decided I wanted to be a physician. That didn't happen and it's a good thing: I would have made a terrible doctor (OK, maybe a radiologist or a pathologist). Medicine requires a collaboration between the physician and the patient. Key to this collaboration is a bond of trust, and the glue for that bond is patience and compassion. No amount of clinical knowledge or skill can substitute. I'm temperamentally unsuited to be a doc.

My friend and colleague Ken Haller (pediatrician, educator, singer, writer, advocate, actor, improviser) posted a story on FB and his blog illustrating how compassion and patience are essential parts of a physician's toolkit:

"The two first-time parents sat across from me. I had just examined their 5-day old baby who was there for her first visit to the office after everyone went home from the hospital. Breathing, feeding, peeing, pooping. Yep, all the plumbing was working. The baby looked great. Mom and dad were smiling, and I was wrapping up, giving them a road map for the visits to come.

“She still hasn’t gotten back to her birth weight yet — which is completely normal — so I’d like to see her again in a week to make sure she does. After that we’ll see her at one month for a visit and then at two months when we’ll start her vaccines.”

The dad’s brow furrowed. “Vaccines? What vaccines are you talking about?”"

Read the rest here: https://kenhaller.medium.com/getting-to-yes-covid-vaccine-edition-230972e2b3d9