OK, enough about informed consent. Let’s talk about the experience of being a patient. There is no better place to begin than to say that I received excellent care. I hope that I was not getting special treatment – at least that was my goal. Most of the people who took care of me during my overnight hospitalization had never met me before. If they were told that I was the President of the Medical University, they seemed not to be too impressed by that. I honestly felt that they were giving me the same attentive care that they give to all of their patients – nothing more, nothing less.
What struck me from virtually the moment I checked in was that being a patient is a very anxiety provoking experience. Even if you are a doctor and know pretty much what is coming, it is a scary event. Maybe it is even more frightening if you are a doctor. The first thing that happens is that you take off all of your clothes and personal possessions. There is a certain loss of identity in doing this – you immediately make the transition from your personal style and choices of adornment to the standard issue, and not very private, garments of the hospital. I have never served in the military, but I would guess that the experience of taking off your civilian clothes and putting on a uniform must be a similar feeling. On the other hand, at least one can take pride in a military uniform, whereas it is hard to take pride in a hospital gown. It seems high time that we got some more interesting threads for our patients to wear.
The other immediate impression was how quickly one gives over total control to other people. As a patient, you are in the hands of people who you don’t know very well, and you are in a completely dependent position, even if you are not terribly ill. Most of us are accustomed to being the conductors of the symphony of our own lives. Suddenly, there is somebody else choosing the music and conducting the orchestra. I suppose that one can fight this loss of control, but for me, it was just easy to just be swept along. Maybe that was because I had complete confidence in the conductor and the musicians in this particular orchestra.
