"Please, Just Don't Leave Me Alone." A Cry for More Humanity in our Care

In a world where physicians are experiencing unprecedented burn-out, our communities are progressively losing trust in the medical system, and healthcare costs continually increase to astronomical levels without improving outcomes, it seems clear that we need to make changes in how we care for our patients. Current healthcare conditions can evoke nostalgia for an idealized past, where physicians were valued members of their communities, making house calls, doing all they could to comprehensively support their neighbours in health and life. As a young physician who envisioned such a career where I could apply my years of hard work and studying towards helping those around me in their moments of greatest need, I often feel that the system we have built thwarts this ideal at every turn. Here I share a story from my intern year of training that marked me, demonstrating just how disconnected we are becoming from our patients. My story involves a clinical situation with which I believe many can relate, highlighting the dire need for us clinicians to care with more humanity.