Just read this interview - Dr. Suzanne Koven on Why Storytelling Matters in Medicine - on 08/29/2025. Came away with several thoughts, but one stood out. Dr. Koven spoke of her PCP and how he(?) called after she broke her wrist and wanted to know if she wanted to meet to talk. I have known several MDs and other medical people professionally as a patient, as an attorney in injury cases, and as a hockey player in adult hockey. When I or my wife have been in the hospital for OR procedures, it has been the hockey player MDs who have stopped by to check on one of us; they have known and sometimes been a part of at least a part of our story.
Also, with only MD exception, and the exception of some nurses, the only medical people who have almost always followed up - either themselves or by a staff person - as to how the patient was doing after a procedure, were the DVMs, i.e., the Doctors of Veterinary Medicine, for our pets. It seems that in general either homo sapiens are not as important to the medical professionals as the canines, felines, and such, or the medical schools are not doing their job of making it clear how important the patients of MDs and other medical people are.
Of course, as you, Dr. McBride have made clear, the time of the MD, RN, NP, PA, and such is largely controlled by the insurance industry and the dictates of record keeping; it is no wonder that burnout is a critical issue in the medical professions.
Just read this interview - Dr. Suzanne Koven on Why Storytelling Matters in Medicine - on 08/29/2025. Came away with several thoughts, but one stood out. Dr. Koven spoke of her PCP and how he(?) called after she broke her wrist and wanted to know if she wanted to meet to talk. I have known several MDs and other medical people professionally as a patient, as an attorney in injury cases, and as a hockey player in adult hockey. When I or my wife have been in the hospital for OR procedures, it has been the hockey player MDs who have stopped by to check on one of us; they have known and sometimes been a part of at least a part of our story.
Also, with only MD exception, and the exception of some nurses, the only medical people who have almost always followed up - either themselves or by a staff person - as to how the patient was doing after a procedure, were the DVMs, i.e., the Doctors of Veterinary Medicine, for our pets. It seems that in general either homo sapiens are not as important to the medical professionals as the canines, felines, and such, or the medical schools are not doing their job of making it clear how important the patients of MDs and other medical people are.
Of course, as you, Dr. McBride have made clear, the time of the MD, RN, NP, PA, and such is largely controlled by the insurance industry and the dictates of record keeping; it is no wonder that burnout is a critical issue in the medical professions.