Patients and Trust

I try my best to understand people.  I am even more patient with patients, considering their background, the stress of having a sick family member and not having the money to buy everything that they need, the guards, the hard-to-understand-PGH-system.  That's why, I say, it's understandable when they become makulit, masungit, etc.

But when patients lie and steal, it's a different story.

To me, trust is a very sacred thing.   There will never be an excuse for being not trustworthy - it's either you are or you are not.  I hope people understand that in the hospital where I am from, where compensation come in thank you's and occasional gifts, my relationship with my patients is the only thing I get to have - and that, I value a lot.  

Two nights ago, during my IMU duty, one of the patients attempted to steal a nurse's cellphone.  She hid it in her panty.  I was not there when it happened, but one patient actually narrated the whole story to me.  Reportedly, the patient denied that she has the phone, even when the ringing came from her shorts and a light was seen flashing.  

Earlier this week, I lost money.  Somebody took it from my wallet but was kind enough to leave the wallet and my IDs and just enough money to buy some food after the clinic.

When things like these happen, I feel really bad.  More than losing things and money, I feel like I'm losing a lot more.  You know how bad it feels when you believe that most people are good and be negated by what they do sooner or later. 

Yeah, things like this, I take personally.  

Poverty is and will never be an excuse.

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Today, I learned not to generalize.  

I had one patient who came at the OBAS because of vaginal bleeding.  She's 20, not married, on her first pregnancy.  We requested for a pregnancy test which revealed a weakly positive result. She's young, single, unemployed.  There's a big chance that she doesn't want this baby, I thought.  So I asked her the question that would spell out the difference between emotional trauma and professional treatment by almost everyone on duty at the OBAS.

May ininom po ba kayong gamot o ipinasok sa puwerta?

She said no.  I asked the question 2 more times and got the same answer.  Honestly, I was not convinced.   She went through the usual PE, she was made to lie on the examination table.  We did the internal examination.  As expected, the resident asked her again if she took any medications (she meant Cytotec).  She said no.

As soon as the resident finished and left, the patient quietly asked me, mawawala po ba ang baby ko, to which I immediately replied, may nakuha na po kasing mga laman bukod sa dugo at bukas na ang matres ninyo.  Malamang po ay ganun na nga.  Then I excused myself.  I was about to go back to get her papers which I left on the table when I saw the answer to convince myself that she did not intentionally abort the pregnancy.  From behind the curtain, I saw my patient cry.

She wanted the baby.  She was telling the truth.  But I was too skeptical to believe her.  It was a horrible horrible feeling.  Now I know some patients can be trusted.  Not all patients lie.