Emergency Medicine Cases Ep 145 Physician Compassion – The Barbara Tatham Memorial Podcast
Aug 25, 2020
Dr. Barbara Tatham, an emergency physician and passionate advocate for compassionate care, shares her inspiring journey battling metastatic sarcoma. She highlights the profound impact of compassion in emergency medicine, backed by evidence showing that it improves patient outcomes and reduces burnout. Tatham emphasizes that compassion can be learned through simple actions and offers practical scripts for clinicians. Their discussion encourages integrating compassion into medical education to foster a supportive healthcare environment.
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Sudden Diagnosis Changed Her Role
- Dr. Barbara Tatham recounts discovering a 5cm skull tumor after a routine biopsy and CT scan that revealed extensive skull destruction and brain compression.
- She describes transitioning from physician to patient and the shock of immediate major surgery, chemo, radiation, and repeated admissions.
Repeated Surgeries and Personal Cost
- Dr. Barbara Tatham details multiple surgeries, complications with wound necrosis, a free flap reconstruction, metastases discovery, and loss of fertility after pelvic radiation.
- She emphasizes the emotional and logistical toll of repeated procedures and ICU stays.
Patients Remember Feeling, Not Procedures
- Patients remember how you made them feel more than technical skills or procedures.
- A one-point increase in a CARE compassion score reduced odds of PTSD symptoms by 7% at one month.
