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Patient Reflections: Saying Good-Bye to a Retiring Family Doctor

Department of Sociology, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT (BM)
Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA (JM)

Correspondence: Corresponding author: Beth Merenstein, PhD, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley St., PO Box 4010, New Britain, CT 06050 (E-mail: merensteinb{at}ccsu.edu)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the doctor–patient relationship as expressed in written comments to a retiring family physician.

Methods:All 200 of the written notes and e-mails to a single family physician retiring after 42 years in practice were examined using content analysis for general themes and meaning. No phone or personal verbal responses were included.

Results: Seven themes emerged with regards to what patients appreciated in their family physician relationship. These included "being there," caring, medical expertise, personal characteristics, multiple roles/anything goes, family, and continuity.

Conclusion: Analyzing comments from actual patients at the end of a long-term relationship with an individual physician confirms beliefs of what patients consider important based on theoretical models, surveys, and interviews.

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