Angel of Death

Everyone hates to be the bearer of bad news.

And that includes doctors. Unfortunately listed in the purview of our work, we are generally expected to relay devastating life-changing news to our patients - and their assorted relatives - on a daily basis. Otherwise also known as dumping a pile of crap-shit on total strangers.

Patient : Doctor, can I go home now?
Doctor : Not unless it's in a hearse.

Or that infamous army joke rehashed.

Doctor : Everyone with their mother still living, step forward. Not so fast, Mr X.

Yes. We make sick jokes. It's one of our patented coping mechanisms. Otherwise we'd be far more... loopy than we already are.

Of course it doesn't make the job of bearing bad news any better. Guess it would take a true sadist to enjoy dropping a ton of bricks over the next unsuspecting fella. And generally folks such as these tend to clear of careers in medicine! So unsurprisingly many idealistic gung-ho doctors shy away from telling the horrible truth, desperately trying to see the glass half full even when it's already near empty. After all wouldn't that be seen as a failure of modern medicine?


What? There's nothing we can do?!
Which is wrong. It's not a failure. Rather I call it admitting our limits. Sometimes there just isn't much that we can do. We're not God. And we shouldn't go around playing God either.

Doctor : No worries. The surgery will be successful, there shouldn't be any complications. You'll go on to live a wonderful life.
Patient : Really ah?
Paul : You want to know the real truth? The tumour has spread everywhere. Your kidneys are failing, your liver is gone and your lungs are taking a semi-permanent vacation. There's even a tiny lump in your brain. Your chances of surviving this operation is very low indeed.

Reason enough I'm always the one chosen to deliver bad news at work. The Angel of Death seriously.

Me, I'm a proponent of tough love. I believe the patients deserve to hear the worst from us. After all, who else is going to lay all the cards out on the table for them? Moral support and encouragement they can already receive from their relatives / friends / spiritual advisors. I think what they expect from us is the honest truth especially in regards to their medical condition.

No matter how painful it can be.

For the more fragile ones, I might try to cushion the blow by offering some small sliver of hope ( and there always is even in the most dire circumstances! ) but that won't stop me from delivering the punch.


Hmm... I've got some bad news for you but I think you might have already guessed it?
Say what you might but hardly anyone keels over dead from bad news. A tragic swoon or two perhaps but that's about it. Now let me tell you about the ones who drop after being handed the unvarnished truth - especially after being fed sugary sweet honey half-truths before!