It was a busy afternoon precepting four upper-level residents and seeing a combined 36 scheduled patients. At the end of the session, one of the residents (Dr. Ly) came in to see me (Dr. Fogarty) to review how the day had gone. She had just finished seeing patients — a mix of maternity, mental health, chronic care, and new patient visits. I could tell she was harried, so I wanted to check in.

“How are you doing?” I asked. “How are you feeling in your mind? How about your body?”

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CONVERSATION

No one had ever asked me (Dr. Ly) how I was feeling in quite that way, so the questions threw me off guard. I had been so focused on patient concerns all afternoon that I hadn’t considered how I felt. When I paused to think about it, I noticed my stomach rumbling and wondered when I had last eaten. My throat was dry from talking to patients, which reminded me that I hadn’t had anything to drink since the session started. And I realized I needed to use the bathroom.

“I’m doing pretty good,” I said, finally. “I do have to pee — but I can do that when we’re done here.”