I’m not much of a tennis fan, but I am a fan of Serena Williams. Who wouldn’t be after hearing her story? Her rise to the upper echelon of athletics was remarkable, and her longevity is incomparable. All the while, she has challenged the sporting world’s notions about who and what an elite tennis player is supposed to be. I watched her interviews after this year’s Wimbledon finals and was once again in awe.
Less than a year prior to this championship, Ms. Williams delivered a baby girl and then suffered from a pulmonary embolism and other complications. What stuck with me most about her delivery story was the fact that her doctors didn’t seem to take her at her word. Ms. Williams has a history of a previous pulmonary embolism and knew the signs, symptoms, and management. When she became short of breath, she voiced her concerns about the possibility of a pulmonary embolism and asked to be worked up for it. However, members of her health care team thought that she was confused and tried to calm her down. They didn’t seem to believe her. They acquiesced after she kept insisting. What would have happened if she hadn’t kept insisting? Why didn’t they believe her the first time she said that something was wrong?
I need my doctors to believe me. I am quite sensitive about that, and that is because I know what it feels like when they don’t. I found a mass on the right side of my neck during my first year of medical school. I remember pointing it out to my friends after anatomy lab and all of us agreeing that I should have it checked out. I dutifully went to student health where I was told that the mass was a lymph node and that I shouldn’t worry about it.
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
