More Continuity of Care

In July of last year, I wrote about a patient who I had cared for in multiple rotations. This woman, initially admitted for diabetic hyperosmolar non-ketotic coma, had a rocky hospital stay with necrotizing fasciitis requiring an amputation and over a month in the ICU. I continued to follow her over my rotations; on my infectious disease consult service, we gave advice regarding her antibiotics and on cardiology, we consulted on an arrhythmia she had. Now, about a year after she was initially admitted to the hospital, I reviewed a chest X-ray and abdominal CT scan of this patient on my radiology rotation.

Continuity of care is a rare thing in medical school. We partake in a wide variety of rotations in a number of different settings, and it's rare to see the same patient over and over again. And although it is unfortunate that this one patient has a myriad of illnesses and a prolonged hospital course, I think continuity was a wonderful thing for me to have. I was able to contribute on each rotation because I knew the bigger picture; once someone has been in the hospital for a year, it's hard to know what happened at the very beginning. But I had watched this patient's case unfold, I'd talked to family members, and I felt invested in this patient's care which allowed me to add perspective and depth when we looked at her CT in radiology.