I retired from bedside nursing over five years ago. In that time, every medical journey with my body demonstrated to me how broken our health care system is. Medical specialization is one culprit in the fragmentation of care. When I go to my cardiologist, I am the heart with Sick Sinus Syndrome. When I go to my electrophysiologist, I am the dual chamber, MRI friendly, pacemaker. When I go to the dermatologist, I am skin. When I go to the joint specialist, I am the knee not wanting to have surgery, not the septuagenarian with MS who works out six days a week and walks funny. When I go to the MS doctor, nothing more need be said, except that I am blessed. For the most part, my disease is invisible. Maybe that is why it doesn’t come up often in a plan of care.
Every specialist gets a bit of me; no one cares for the “all of me,” I realized this when after working with the same Physical Therapist for several weeks, we discussed my Multiple Sclerosis, which suggested this wasn’t considered when the orthopod submitted orders to treat my bobbling knee. The therapist didn’t know I had it.
Flash back twenty years and my diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. Although I saw a hematologist, the risk of clotting problems associated with autoimmune disease was never mentioned.
I have a dream for my health care providers. Once a year, I’d like a Zoom meeting, God forbid we could do it in situ, where each one helps put the pieces of the puzzle that is my body together and makes recommendations for my health maintenance. I would come with a list of questions about what the interface of body systems and health problems means for the coming year. I would come hoping I would be recognized in toto.
Leave a Reply