In Defense of My Frustration

It’s a been a rough week. I found myself getting very frustrated last week, even angry at my patients. Not pretty. But the second week is much better.

Part of my frustration comes from feeling overwhelmed and underprepared. But there's more to it than that. I’m going to transcribe as closely as possible an interview I did today, and maybe you’ll see what I mean.

So, what brought you into the hospital?

Sickness.

What were you feeling?

Malaria.

What symptoms were you having?

Chest pain, headache, stomach ache.

For how long?

Since yesterday.

Did you have any symptoms before yesterday?

No.

You were totally fine two days ago?

Yes.

Have you been coughing?

Yes.

For how long?

Three days.

So you weren’t totally fine two days ago, you had a cough.

I was fine, but I had a cough.

Were you coughing anything up?

Yes.

Did it have any blood in it?

A little.

So you were totally fine, but you were coughing up blood?

Yes.

Of course, now that I think about it, this interview could just as easily have taken place in the Montefiore Emergency Dept.