Volume 2 Issues 9, September, 2021
Patient on Ventilator
During my posting in Neurology Department at CMC, Vellore, I was asked to see a terminally ill young patient who was on a ventilator and other life support systems. During the rounds, my Chief Dr.G.M.Taori, after detailed discussion about the patient and its current state decided it was time to “switch off” the ventilator. I vehemently protested despite the fact I was the junior most in the team. I said, “how can we be inhuman and decide about the fate of this young man and how do you know that he will not recover”? Dr.Taori smiled and said “you be in‐charge of patient and come and look after him daily and you manage the secretions in his throat and lungs and make sure that he does not develop bed sores” I took the challenge and was quite sure that soon my point of view would prevail. I went about my duties diligently. It dawned on me gradually, the futility of this exercise. After 18 days, I reluctantly admitted to my chief that the patient has shown no improvement and on the contrary, he was steadily worsening, in spite of the “life‐support”. This event made a big impact on me for different reasons. a) That the Prof. of Neurology, would allow the Sr. Houseman the freedom to do this and b) he respected my wish instead of ordering me to obey his decision and at the same time allowed learning to take place, at the same time. c) taught me humility, I also learnt the futility of trying “heroic techniques” in medicine.
Chairperson of Organizing committee, ANSIP (2013)
0
0
