Dalane W. Kitzman, MD, Kermit Glenn Phillips II chair in cardiology and professor of cardiovascular medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, recently traveled to New Zealand for his 40th wedding anniversary. While waiting in line for a tour bus, a man became unconscious and Kitzman successfully performed CPR on him.
Dalane W. Kitzman, MD
While traveling to New Zealand for his 40th wedding anniversary, Dalane W. Kitzman, MD, saves an unconscious man.
Dalane Kitzman
Hi, I am Dalane Kitzman. I'm in the section on cardiovascular medicine. I've been here since 1992. I lead a number of research teams and also perform clinical care and education as well. We were in Auckland, New Zealand, for our 40th anniversary, and we were going to start a cruise the next day. It was a really hot day, and all of a sudden I saw a man completely pass out and hit the pavement very hard. At the same time, there were cries that go out, "Is there a doctor?" So I was already on my way and I knelt down, no pulse, no breathing, and I knew I needed to start CPR, but at the same time I was doing CPR and I was saying a prayer, "Dear Lord, do not let this man die. Not here, not now, not this way." After what seemed like a long time, but was probably just a couple of minutes, he started breathing. His pulse came back. There were a lot of people patting me on the back and congratulating me. Initially, I felt pride, and then I quickly pivoted and realized that it could have easily gone in the other direction. I happened to be there. I did some of the things, but really, this was God's intervention, and I needed to be humble about this. From many people, I've learned that the difference between treating a patient and caring for a patient can be as little as a smile, a kind word, a gentle squeeze of the hand, and that can make all the difference for the patient's experience. This first came to me when I was a second-year medical student. There was a fellow in cardiology, and he was giving bad news to a patient, essentially saying, "You've got a really bad form of heart disease. If you are able to recover, it's going to be a long, hard road." But then he added, "I will be with you every step of the way." It was such a powerful impression on me that ingrained in me the power of us as physicians, not in just the technical knowledge that we have and the skills, but always also in the human connection. Here is the advice that I'd give to a medical student, someone in training to be a nurse or a physician's assistant, and that is, remember that this human being in front of you not only has a disease but has tremendous worries, uncertainties, and fears about what comes next. In addition to choosing the right tests and the right treatments, choose also the right words to let them know that you're with them, that there are good treatments ahead, and that you're not going to abandon them.
This life-threatening experience made Kitzman pause to appreciate all that led him to this moment outside of the usual patient care surroundings, and how the situation could have been different. He leads research teams and teaches students at the School of Medicine, while also providing medical care as a cardiologist. He acknowledges that a vital learning in his education and career was experiencing the difference between treating a patient with medicine and caring for a patient with compassion. Now he teaches others this important lesson.
“My advice for medical students and other future health care providers is to remember that the human being in front of you not only has a disease but has tremendous worries, uncertainties, and fears about what comes next,” Kitzman says. “In addition to choosing the right tests and the right treatments, also choose the right words to let them know that you're with them, that there are good treatments ahead, and that you're not going to abandon them.”