My son is 16 months old, and I\u2019ve never told his pediatrician I\u2019m a doctor.<\/p>\n
More than a decade after becoming an M.D., I still struggle with the \u201creveal\u201d of my identity as a physician when a family member or I am a patient. On one hand, I want the treating doctor to know my background to allow for a more sophisticated (but not too sophisticated!) conversation. On the other hand, most of the time I just want to be a mom, a sister, a daughter, or a scared patient.<\/p>\n
Over the past 10 years I have been in dozens of medical encounters as both a family member and a patient. In the beginning, I felt obligated to share my medical background, but it always felt so awkward. I\u2019d find myself blurting out, \u201cBy the way, I\u2019m a doctor\u201d during a random part of the history. Or worse, my family would \u201cout\u201d me and tell the treating physician as soon as they walked in the room, \u201cShe\u2019s a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019d worry the treating team might think I have an agenda, will want to direct care, or question their judgment. I would also feel hesitant to ask questions not wanting to embarrass myself by asking something a board certified emergency physician should know.<\/p>\n
So until recently, at least when I\u2019ve been alone, I\u2019d say nothing. I would find myself carefully choosing my words so as not to expose myself; pain didn\u2019t \u201cradiate,\u201d symptoms did not start \u201cacutely.\u201d It made me feel uncomfortable, like an imposter keeping a secret from my doctor\u2014a physician posing as a patient. It also made me feel hypocritical; I always want to know when my patient or their family member is a doctor.<\/p>\n
But my not-so-forthcoming approach changed after a recent shift when a patient\u2019s mother\u2014and fellow physician\u2014showed me how to handle the reveal beautifully.<\/p>\n
She brought her young son to the emergency department for fever and cough. I entered the room, and as I usually do, extended my hand to her and introduced myself, \u201cGood morning, I\u2019m Dr. Borhart.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook my hand and said warmly, \u201cI\u2019m K. It\u2019s always a pleasure to meet fellow physician colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a doctor?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, a radiologist, but today I\u2019m just Ben\u2019s mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just like that. Simple. Natural. Not awkward at all.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m inspired by K\u2019s effortless reveal and look forward to embracing both of my identities\u2014emergency physician, and Sean\u2019s mom\u2014at my son\u2019s 18-month check-up in a few weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My son is 16 months old, and I\u2019ve never told his pediatrician I\u2019m a doctor. More than a decade after becoming an M.D., I still struggle with the \u201creveal\u201d of my identity as a physician when a family member or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":266,"featured_media":8614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"It's awkward revealing yourself as a physician when you or a family member is a patient. @joelleborhart can help!","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4,5,34],"tags":[39,149],"coauthors":[433],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n