When I first qualified as a #GP

An elderly man came to see me

He mentioned a symptom & we addressed it

He then sat there for a few seconds

His records showed he came the same time every yr

With a simple symptom

“What’s really bothering you?” I asked

“Your eyes seem sad”

1

He told me that every year he came to the drs

He would mention a made up symptom to see if they would listen or take him seriously

If he didn’t think they did, he left

It was the anniversary of his son’s death & he never knew what else to do

2

We sat there & talked about his son

Sometimes sitting in silence

He had a broken heart that couldn’t be fixed, he said

I nodded & listened -

I often think about that day

Talking about heartache & pain is a big deal - patients might want to “test us” before they trust us

3

But it’s always made me think

No matter how busy the day is: take a few minutes to really listen

If a patient comes with something that seems medically trivial: take a few minutes to really listen

Give them time

There may be something else they need to share

#GP

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As ever, details have been anonymised, changed & disguised to avoid identification, without taking away from the essence of the story