Many Hands Solving a "Rubik's Cube
Stan Massey - 10/11/2011
Recently, op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd of The New York Times wrote an intriguing article about physician/patient collaboration. Titled “Decoding the God Complex,” the article provided several interesting perspectives about the complexities of modern medicine and the power of patients playing a more prominent role in how they’re treated.
Dowd also cited a Michigan gynecologist who told a Wall Street Journal reporter that “Every patient is like a Rubik’s Cube” and must get an individualized solution.
Most hospice teams, including their medical staffs, have embraced this philosophy for decades. But the Rubik’s Cube analogy was a refreshing new twist (pun intended) for me. I pictured many hands, including the patient’s, on the cube working together to successfully solve the puzzle each end-of-life experience can present.
As Dowd’s article suggests, more physicians outside of hospice should be practicing teamwork in addressing the Rubik’s Cube. Dowd refers to a new book by Doctor Jerome Groopman (who in my opinion wrote the best definition of “hope” in a previous book, The Anatomy of Hope) and Doctor Pamela Hartzband. The new book, Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What Is Right for You, furthers these physicians’ efforts to “help doctors understand that patients are often neglected allies with good intuition.”
Imagine the power of patients, their physicians and hospice professionals working in true concert to provide what best suits the patient’s needs AND wishes. A “hands-on” collaboration could conquer whatever Rubik’s Cube any patient’s circumstances presented.
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