Entering medicine as a physician and a patient (15 April 2024)

Summary

US doctor Frederick Gibson describes his experience having a sudden cardiac arrest as a 26 year-old medical student. It took paramedics 45 minutes to resuscitate him in his kitchen and two further rounds of CPR before he reached the hospital to keep him alive. Frederick describes the profound impact the experience has had on him and his partner and reflects on how it has changed his attitude to the experience of being a patient. He highlights the significance of interactions between doctors and their patients—a doctor's words, tone and attitude are carried by the patient in their everyday life, outside of the consultation room, for the next few months and years.