Do you remember me?

Recently I met a patient in one of the elevators of the hospital. I recognized him immediately though last time that I had seen him he had been in a much worse general state and far from only leaving his bed. I said 'hello Mr ...' and expressed my joy to see him so well. He looked at me with surprise, first said thank you but then found it unbelievable that I could remember his name. We had only met twice on a sunday afternoon two weeks ago, how could I remember who he was?!

This is something many patients don’t realize. There are patients a doctor on call may see only a few short moments on a weekend or at night. But outside of their room he spends hours discussing and reevaluating the situation with nurses, supervisors, specialists, in front of an x-ray or lab parameters or articles in books and specialised magazines. That’s how he gets to memorize these patients. That’s why he knows them by name weeks later.