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Tough Love From a Caring Doctor
By Linda A. Annan
What do you do when your caregiver makes a recommendation? You act. What do you say when such advice extends beyond medical concern? You open your eyes wide. Why? Because you know the place from which it comes is rarely so when you are a statistic on a medical list. When such limitations have no space to spin in a doctor-patient relationship, only one conclusion can be drawn—it must be more than just a job. Dr. Ngozi Osuagwu proves to be such in Letters to my Sisters: Plain Truths and Straightforward Advice From a Gynechologist , an enlightening conversational book which delivers candid answers to medical concerns of fictionalized patients.
In 1995, Osuagwu began working with Central Ohio Medical Group, Inc. where she has since personalized her medical career, opting to view herself as a sister to patients, thereby stepping further to places some doctors will back away from. When she established her private practice, The Healthy Woman, Inc. in 1997, which actively operated for eight years before joining the teaching faculty at Doctors Hospital , Ohio , she applied same attitude.
The main purpose of The Healthy Woman, Inc. she explains, was, “trying to bring women and really encourage them to be healthy.
“[The] reason why we encouraged them to become healthier was to prevent diseases, make them more knowledgeable, teach about their body. I mean that was the whole thing, to make sure that they realized that I was more of a partner in their health care rather than their doctor, [saying] do this do this. I wanted them to learn some things,” she adds.
Osuagwu's book certainly mirrors the kind of doctor-patient relationship she describes. In candid, down-to-earth tones, she addresses various medical issues through letters to patients. A letter to Paula, a fictitious patient who wanted her tubes tied, reveals one of many such incidents when Osuagwu shows more concern for a patient's well-being than money.
She tells Paula: “For you, my dear, Mr. Right may walk through the door tomorrow and both of you may decide to have another baby. I know my job is not to tell you what to do and that you will make the final decision. I'm simply informing you of your options. This is an invasive procedure that is not always reversible,” and she refuses to do so when she adds:
“I cannot in good conscience tie your tubes,” but instead, suggests contraceptive options.
Instead of being more concerned about profits and conceding to patients' wishes, Osuagwu chooses to inform them about possible options, some of which send them to other practitioners. There is a sense of integrity and indisputable concern, though in some cases communicated in a reproving manner, exhibited throughout the book that can only be a reflection of her character; such genuineness will be an impossible act.
She says to Lauren, 20, another fictitious patient, who weighs 360 pounds: “Don't you listen to all the news on obesity?...Stop making excuses and take charge of the situation. You say you are old enough to date. Yet when I asked you what you plan to do about your weight, you told me you are waiting for your mother.”
And then adds, “The hallmark of my practice is open and honest communication.”
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