My Redeeming Satisfaction

After a stressful week in the ER, I was reminded of why I love my job so much. It began last Friday when I popped in for one of my after hours 'rounds' in the department.

I noticed a patient, Mr. Cox (not the patient's real name) had came in looking for a psychiatric evaluation and assistance to link up with community services. Unfortunately, he had been sitting in our waiting room for 3-4 hours and was then told to go home as he did not present with a primary medical concern. To make a long story short, I picked up his chart and my clip board and volunteered 30 minutes of my time off to do a quick assessment.

Mr. Cox had been suffering from an untreated acute clinical depression/adjustment disorder, suicidal and had been attempting to cope with the symptoms through suggested cocaine use by his less ideal friends. Mr. Cox was a well educated individual who struck me as a go-getter and someone who had just made one bad decision which began a spiralling tumble in life. Although prior to this he had been coping well in life, his depression was precipitated by the recent loss (laid off) of employment, and break-up with his long-time fiancee.

This afternoon, I decided to visit Mr. Cox at home to check in on his progress. He was doing well and was following my discharge recommendations. As I was walking back to my car, his mother ran out of the house to express gratitude because I cared for her son. I simply told her that it's just a part of my job. As we shook hands, she leaned in to give me a hug. She stated that if was not for me donating my time during after hours, she believed that he would not be alive today.

In this day and age, modern medicine and psychiatry has become such a thankless line of work. Today I was left feeling satisfied as someone reminded me that we make differences in people's lives.