What does your doctor mean to you?

Dr. F came out of the patient's room to get me. It was a busy afternoon in the clinic and we were all in the middle of seeing our own patients. He wanted me to come and meet one of his patients.

Dr. F leaves our clinic in about a month. He is moving back to the coast to be closer to family. He has been here about 13 years. He did his residency here and is now the director of that same residency program. He is also the head of our department. As part of his last month's activities and in between trips to the coast to find a home, nail the job down and such, he is having to tell his patients that he can no longer be their doctor. He had spoken to me about this particular patient -- someone he wanted me to take over the care of after he left.

I entered the room to find a tearful, crying 50-something year old female. I asked her why she was crying and from her wheelchair she reached out to Dr. F and said, "I'm losing my best friend!"

I think both Dr. F and me fought to maintain composure in the presence of her emotional expression of what Dr. F meant to her. She held onto him for a few moments, tears flowing freely down her face.

This is what Dr. F meant to her. She told me that they shared a history together. He had told me earlier of her close encounters with death, debilitating disease and the march of chronic disease in her life through the years.

Over 13 years, relationships between doctors and their patients are forged in the therapeutic alliance for their health and wellbeing. This continuity, this partnership and ultimately, this friendship is what Dr. F and this patient have. This is primary care.