“We in healthcare experience the unique opportunity of meeting, even defending, people when they are most ill, most distressed, most vulnerable.” Chris Deuel is a resident physician and currently a student in the INMED International Medicine & Public Health Hybrid Course, photoed here on the left. He appealed to his twenty-five classmates, “If we do not make ourselves available for these patients, we are missing a great opportunity to genuinely care for them when they may need care the very most.” Chris Deuel’s perspective is heartening, particularly in an era when clinicians feel suffocating pressure to shorten patient visits and thus bill more patient encounters.
“The time spent talking with patients and building trust,” Chris Deuel continued, “not only can allay their fears. If our patient genuinely trust us they will be more likely to be following with the treatment plan and to be motivated to take personal steps to improve their health.” Observing Chris’ sincerity reaffirms for me the conviction that INMED students are some of the world’s most compelling, skilled, and inspired individuals.