“When Patients Mentor Doctors: The Story Of One Vital Bond” tells of physician Aroonsiri Sangarlangkarn’s longitudinal relationship with a patient she comes to call a friend. The bond between them affects her views on what can be gained through understanding patients on a more personal level.

Sangarlangkarn first meets Roger as part of a medical school program that matches up aspiring physicians with geriatric patients who provide mentorship on medicine from a patient perspective. She then encounters him again after she has finished her training and he is hospitalized under her care. She reflects on the value of her deep knowledge of his personality and history.

I liked reading about Sangarlangkarn’s own lengthy description, written years prior as a medical student, of the patient’s social history. It included intimate details such as Roger’s parents’ names, his boyhood aspirations and his favorite board game. When I was a medical student I remember taking a very detailed history of a woman who was in the hospital for treatment of her malignant tumors. I spent over an hour with her, just chatting with her about her history. No physical exam, no review of medications. The final typed up document I turned into my advisor was over two pages long. Now, as a busy primary care physician, I, like Sangarlangkarn, can see how the emphasis on efficiency causes time constraint that makes it difficult to have meaningful patient-physician conversation that could contribute to helpful personal knowledge. Sangarlangkarn laments that “our interactions with patients have become so regimented and one-dimensional that we no longer get to know the multifaceted person outside the hospital.”

What do you think about Sangarlangkarn’s suggestion regarding the value of patient home visits? This is often done for patients in hospice care or who are unable to physically get to a clinic. Home visits because of the time they require seem much more costly to the system but Sangarlangkarn argues that the value – the ability to get to know the patient on a different level – provides invaluable information. She writes: “To effectively provide care for someone, it’s important to learn who they are, what they eat, how they breathe.” She, in fact, due to her detailed knowledge of the patient, is the only one who eventually can get him the end of life care and support he needs.

Writing Prompt: Think about a time you visited an ill person at home, whether that be an apartment, house or adult family home. Describe what you saw, what you smelled, what you talked about, how you felt. What do you think can be gained by entering into a person’s living space? Alternatively, consider a patient you’ve known for years, maybe decades. What do you know about that patient because of a longitudinal relationship that might be of benefit to you if you had to deliver bad news or discuss different treatment options or medications? Write for 10 minutes.