Reference no: EM133452546

Case Study: I sat down and delivered the news. I hinted at the ultimate implications of his diagnosis, but I didn't want to hit this too hard too soon. I wanted to give him some time to digest the shock of the unexpected. I looked at his wife, his infant daughter, and at him. He nodded his head, slowly, calmly. I wanted to provide them with some hope so I started, reflexively, to enumerate all the treatments he could receive that would give him the best possible chance. I reassured him that he was young and healthy, which would put him in a more favorable category.

I felt I had done enough talking at that point, so I stopped and sat in silence, a natural invitation for questions. I looked at the three of them. His wife was starting to cry, silently.

Then, without warning, I started to cry, too, then sob, interrupting the silence. My usual calm professional demeanor had broken down. I was struck by a harsh paradox: the vision of this young vibrant family sitting with me in the present, clashing with my knowledge of biology and how this tumor was about to change their lives. I could see the future too clearly.

The patient continued to look at me, stoically, nodding his head. He exhaled audibly and then thanked me. I didn't deserve much thanks, though. I worried that my unbridled outpouring of grief had wiped out any shred of hope.

Assignment

Questions: Read through the case study and answer these questions:

1. Because the prognosis was bleak, the message that the neurosurgeon related was accurate, but was it appropriate?

2. Would the patient necessarily lose all hope as the surgeon feared?

3. What might be another outcome of the neurosurgeon's expression of grief?

4. What else might the neurosurgeon have said or done after her expression of grief?