Coffee Break: Inspiring Patient Stories

A dive into various clinical experiences and how they've inspired us

Bryant: Hi! It's Bryant and I'm here with Ray and Ellen. Welcome to another coffee break. We're gonna talk today about inspiring patient stories.

I think attitude's a big part of it. Ten years back, I encountered a World War II vet, who was shot down over the Philippines and went into the water. He was very humble about it all and it took some chatting with his son-in-law and daughter to get the full story. Turns out, the vets were stranded on a life raft for a whole week and survived by wringing out water from their shirts. Eventually, they made it to a distant island, where the locals helped them out. To this day, he still can’t eat bananas ‘cause they had so many on the island. After retiring from the military, he started a whole new career with the postal service. He was such a great guy, always positive and polite.

Knowing his birthday was coming up, I asked him what he was doing for his hundredth birthday and he was like, “Nothing much.” Luckily, I had another patient who was a military recruiter, so I asked him, and I said, “Hey, do you mind getting some military folks here? People from the navy.” The recruiter was amazing, he got people flown in from all around the country, and we surprised the veteran with a birthday party, a cake for his hundredth birthday, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. I will always remember that story and many others.

Ellen, do you have any stories from residency?

Ellen: As I’ve had more longitudinal care with patients, I've come to appreciate the significance of patients' relationships with their families for their health and well-being. Now as a physician, I have been able to establish connections not only with patients but also with their families, especially when discussing care goals or end-of-life decisions. I think that because doing medicine one can get lost in the day-to-day and the tasks that need to be done to advance patient care, creating a relationship that supports patients and family members makes the work very meaningful. 

Bryant: It's really about that deeper connection with the patient and their family. Ray, as a future medical student, have you had any experiences working with patients and what are your thoughts about it? 

Ray: During the summer, I shadowed at a dermatologist clinic, and it was inspiring to see how it served as an oasis for the community. The doctors, as Ellen mentioned, went beyond the typical physician-patient relationship. They were deeply connected to the families, treating multiple generations and forming close bonds with patients. Though I only observed a few patients, witnessing how these doctors were actively impacting the community was really inspiring to see. 

Bryant: So, it's like the old small-town doctor idea, where there's a strong sense of community focus. You're fortunate to have encountered a doctor encompassing this idea.

Fantastic. A lot of our talks have been about technology, and none of the discussion touched on it, which I think is refreshing to hear and bodes well for the future of medicine. Thanks for joining us.