My name is Rachel Miller, and
I am currently a transplant infectious
disease clinician at Duke University.
Within infectious diseases,
I became interested in
transplantation in particular,
because these are very challenging
group of patients to work with.
They have very difficult pre and
post-transplant courses oftentimes that
involve infectious diseases and the
ability to be able to make an impact on
these patients with regard to their
complex problems was very exciting for me.
One of my favorite parts
about meeting patients for
the first time is just being able to
establish a connection with them.
I love communicating with patients.
I like sitting down with them,
getting to know them,
getting to learn about their families and
their background, and then jumping into
the medical aspects of their care.
Sometimes the best approach is just to
take the time, sit down with the patient,
and have them tell them your
story from start to finish.
And a lot of times, a light bulb will go
off both for you and for the patient, and
if you ask the right questions,
everything falls into place.
I've had a number of patients,
both pre and post-transplant,
that have had very difficult courses and
struggled with complex medical illnesses
and difficulties after the transplant.
And taking care of those patients really
impacts me in terms of watching how
they go through that struggle.
They're very courageous, they're very
patient with what we do to them,
both in terms of diagnostic tests and
in terms of treatment plan.
It's really quite inspiring.
It's really, I think,
a joy and a privilege for
me to be a part of their
transplant journey.
