Residency, just like medical practice, is full of decision making and dilemma. You will often face situations in which you must coach a patient through a choice between surgical or conservative management, different operative procedures, or other similar situations. In general, the patient and their family will look to you for the ultimate guidance in this decision making…giving you much more influence than you may have ever expected to have over people.

It is, of course, important to treat this level of influence and trust with great respect. While it may sound excessively cliché, I do agree with the approach that you should always treat a patient as if they were a close and loved family member. This will hopefully keep your decision-making rooted properly and will serve as an easy guide as to what to say next. It is instantly comforting most patients when you can look them in the eye and explain “if you were my mother (or sister, or grandmother, or daughter), this is what I would recommend.”