Question

You are a working as an allied health care professional, and one of your patients has just received the diagnosis of a serious illness. As the patient is leaving the office, you overhear a conversation between the patient and her son. The son starts to open the door for his mother, but she lashes out and says “You treat me like I can’t do anything right! Just leave me alone!” She storms out and leaves her son standing in the doorway.

Answer 1

You (the doctor) should go reassure the son that he did nothing wrong and it's a reaction coming from his mother receiving some bad news. Lash outs/mood swings can even be common side effects of certain illnesses. If the son is of a young age it might be beneficial to have you or someone else someone watch him while the mother cools down and walks back.