Sharing your learning to help others

Let’s return to Omar’s case to illustrate how we can share our learning from challenging cases to help others develop their knowledge work skills.

In the previous weeks we met Omar who presented with a sensation of something intermittently being stuck at the back of his throat. He has been reviewed by ENT and Gastroenterology, where all investigations have been normal. A PPI and steroid nasal spray didn’t alter the symptoms, whilst support from the SALT team had not been perceived to be beneficial. He had denied anxiety and declined CBT to help manage his symptoms. Omar was convinced there was a lump in his throat and requested a second opinion by a specialist.

As discussed in week 2, Omar’s problems fall under the umbrella of medically unexplained symptoms. As GPs, you likely come across cases similar to this regularly.

How does this make you feel? Do you think other clinicians may feel similarly? Share your thoughts in the discussion below!

Challenging cases like this stimulate us to reflect on our role as medical practitioners, and about when, and how we can best serve our patients. Through this process we contribute to our mindlines, discovering and creating new knowledge that we apply to our practice to improve patient care.