After great pain*, a Resident’s Report
by Brooke Peterson Gabster, M.D.
JAMA Nov. 5, 2019
Emily Dickinson wrote: “After great pain, a formal feeling
comes.” This sentence could introduce the
remarkable essay by a resident physician that was published this week in JAMA.
During her intern year, Dr. Gabster was diagnosed with an
aggressive osteogenic sarcoma. Her
insights into being a patient are instructive.
She learns that:
1. firsthand, straightforward is rarely the true patient
experience.
2. In this fight for life, I need to feel connected to my
medical team. I need my doctors to know my disease and the newest treatment
options. I also need my team to know me as a person, as a resident, wife, daughter, sister, and friend.
She tells us, “I do not want to die. I want to finish residency, pursue my dream
career in global health, start a family, travel the world with my husband, and
be present as my parents age.
In this short essay, she says so much. It will resonate with some of you. One can only thank her for her wisdom and
wish her well on her journey.
* After
great pain by Emily Dickinson
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