Dr. Erkeda DeRouen talks to Dr. Gina Blocker, an emergency medicine physician and CEO of Dash Health, Houston’s premier concierge mobile urgent care service. They discuss the future of emergency medicine, the unique challenges for women in medicine, and how to build a strong relationship with your patients.
- [00:00] Introducing Dr. Gina Blocker
- [01:22] Why Dr. Blocker Took the Military Medicine Route
- [04:59] Dr. Blocker’s Journey to Emergency Medicine
- [07:30] Advice For Medical Students on the Journey to Becoming a Physician
- [09:58] The Unique Challenges Plaguing Women in Medicine
- [15:07] Launching Houston’s Premier Concierge Mobile Urgent Care Service
- [18:05] The Evolution of Emergency Medicine
- [19:20] What Dr. Blocker Would Change About Healthcare
- [21:35] Parting Thoughts
How to Build a Strong Relationship with Your Patients
Healthcare is changing. Gone are the days when patients did not have relationships with their doctors. Today, the patient-doctor relationship is crucial to the overall care experience. Dr. Blocker believes the most important part of building this relationship is taking time to know your patients. Address the patient as an individual, as opposed to a medical condition. Your goal is to get your patients to open up to you about things they’d never be comfortable sharing with anyone else. Do this successfully, and you’ll find a lot of your medical diagnoses will come from patients telling you the truth about what they’re going through.
Why Emergency Medicine?
If you love making a difference in emergencies, emergency medicine is for you. Dr. Blocker shares how, to excel in emergency medicine, you need to be the kind of physician who loves immediate impact, connecting with patients, and thriving in the chaos of an emergency room. You will care for a whole host of patients- some healthy, some sick, some very alive, and some unconscious. Expect to see patients in their most vulnerable and terrified states. But the pressure will be worth it since you’ll make a difference in people’s lives.
Advice to Medical Students on the Journey to Becoming a Physician
Let your journey to becoming a physician change you. Let it impact how you live your life, but never let it become your everything. Become the very best at what you do, but have a life outside of medicine. According to Dr. Blocker, the best physicians live and breathe medicine. But they always make time for hobbies and passions that have nothing to do with patient care. Your hobbies are the things that make you whole. So don’t lose them chasing a title that will make you miserable and burnt out.
You can reach Dr. Blocker on Instagram, Email and Website for more details about her work.
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