OUR CALLING IS HIGHER

I was hurt when we received a text message from a panicked family member "ang hospital known raba nga maniwasay ug tawo..." meaning patients die in our hospital. My first instinct was to want to ask why they brought their patient to our hospital in the first place if they did not trust our healthcare workers to take care of their patient? My second inclination was to press legal charges for slander or libel. Their statement was unfounded. Our resident was taking care of the patient as best as she could.

When I consulted a lawyer for legal advice, this was his reply:

"A public official, more especially an elected one, should not be onion skinned. Strict personal discipline is expected of an occupant of a public office because a public official is a property of the public. He is looked upon to set the example how public officials should correctly conduct themselves even in the face of extreme provocation. Always he is expected to act and serve with the highest degree of responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency and shall remain accountable for his conduct to the people." - Yabut et.al. vs. OMB, G.R. No. 111304, June 17, 1994.

As government employees, we are considered public officials. We are professionals. We need to take the higher ground when patients insult us and provoke us. They may be uneducated, so they don't know any better. It's not really their fault either. They are overcome by their panic and helplessness over the condition of their patient, whom they have entrusted to our care.

We have always encouraged our patients and stakeholders to provide their comments and feedback to improve our services, but sometimes complaints hurt especially if unfounded. However, there must be some truth in the comments. We do not disregard, but we investigate and evaluate.

As doctors, when we are at the end of your patience, good advice would be "DO NOT ENGAGE". The difficult patient case should be referred to the senior resident or to the consultant. A referral may also be made to social workers as a third party to try to mediate with the relatives to address their concerns. We should not allow ourselves to engage in anger, especially since we are in the business of providing service and care. If your path is more difficult, it is because your calling is higher.