top of page
Search

Pediatric Cancer & Celebrating Our Patients Victories With Them

At just six years old, Peter Gibson faced a life-altering cancer diagnosis in the midst of a global pandemic, catapulting his family into a whirlwind of treatments, ER visits, and constant uncertainty. In this heartfelt episode, his mother, Megan Gibson, takes us through their journey--the fears, the triumphs, and the lessons learned along the way.



One of my favorite things to do after I interview someone for the podcast, is to go back and relisten to the conversation and pick out a couple things I can do differently with my patients because of it.


Here are my main takeaways from my conversation with Megan Gibson:

  1. Use the phrase "How would you feel it?"

    1. As I listened to the interview with Megan, I noticed three different times she mentioned healthcare providers using this phrase with her. "I don't see any red flags, but how would you feel if I referred you to a rheumatologist to make sure we're not missing anything?"

    2. It's a simple phrase, but it does two things. First, it shows Megan that the healthcare provider cared about how she felt. We have won if our patients perceive that we care. Second, it involved her in the plan of care. She had a chance to give her opinion on what was happening next. 

  2. Treat patients like they are family.

    1. When I asked Megan about a time when a healthcare provider said something meaningful to her she said, "We sat down for our first cancer appointment and the care coordinator said to us, 'Peter will always be a part of our family. We are always going to care about him. He's part of the duke family now, and we will always love him. We are on your team.'"

    2. Treating our patients like family is so important. If you do this, it will probably be the thing your patients remember most.

  3. Celebrate the little victories with our patients. 

    1. I haven't been able to get this topic out of my mind, and am so grateful to Megan for bringing it to my attention. Megan said, "They were so good about celebrating little victories with us. It made little milestones seem like big accomplishments."

    2. It has me thinking about how I can be better about celebrating little victories with my patients. The secret to health really is doing little things consistently. And those things should be celebrated. 

    3. It may not be nurses with pom-poms and streamers, but could we ask our patients something they'd like to work on, make note of it, and ask them about it the next time? Congratulating them on any progress made? Could we let them know through our actions that the little things really are the big things, and that they are making more progress than they realize?

  4. Get to know something personal about our patients

    1. When Megan asked her son what he remembers about having cancer he said, "Dr. Gettis always asked me how soccer was going and what books I was reading." Of all the things he could remember, this is what he did.

    2. Taking time to get to know something about our patients' lives can make all the difference. Don't ever get too busy, or too calloused to do this. If you aren't doing this, start now. It will change things.


If you have a chance, list to the whole episode and share with your medical colleagues! Together we can transform the way we deliver healthcare by transforming the way we connect!





 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page