“He sounded harsh,” my wife said after she hung up the phone with her physician.
In the office, she had found her physician compassionate and warm. But on the phone that day, she felt that the physician was distant and regimented. As a palliative medicine physician practicing at a cancer center, I knew what she meant. When the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading across the globe, waiting rooms of medical offices emptied almost overnight, including our own. Many patients with cancer who were not receiving active treatment stayed home, uncertain about their future, often scared and worried. Telemedicine seemed like a perfect solution to stay in touch, offer ongoing care and counseling, and reach out. Health care systems recognized this, and in a blitzkrieg-like move, transitioned many of their non-urgent outpatient visits to virtual. But neither the patients nor the clinicians were prepared for it.
“I have to ask you a question before we get started.” a long-time patient asked when I reached her via telephone at home: “Are you wearing your white coat?” We both burst out laughing at the absurdity of the image: a physician sitting at his desk, talking to a patient who cannot see him, and yet still wearing a white coat.
During more than 20 years of practicing medicine, I have worked on 2 different continents and in a variety of medical systems and settings. But one thing has always remained constant: the practice of medicine as an in-person endeavor.
The potential benefits of telemedicine are many and easy to appreciate during normal times; in the times of the pandemic they are priceless. Telemedicine allows for quick contact and maintains continuity of care, especially for patients who have an established relationship with the clinician or practice. This option can be particularly helpful for patients who live in remote areas or cannot easily travel, including frail older adults. Patients can be quickly assessed and supported without the risk of being exposed to the virus. The video encounters also offer a direct glimpse into the lives of patients, an updated version of the traditional home visit.
But, compared with the face-to-face interactions, the virtual interactions seem barren, devoid of the richness the personal contact brings. In a specialty like mine, where a lot depends on emotional connection with the patient and their caregivers, the virtual visits demanded more of me and yet felt a lot less fulfilling. And they all seemed to be plagued by annoying technical issues: a weak Wi-Fi signal, dropped connections, wrong phone numbers in the chart, malfunctioning headphones, or a broken phone camera. And what to do about the omnipresent background noise of a lawn mower? As I spent more time doing telemedicine visits, I noticed their cumulative effect wore on me.
Times are chaotic now. For all of us. Our health care systems struggle to provide the best care possible. Telemedicine has proven to be incredibly useful, and it is here to stay. Over time, supporting technology and systems will make virtual visits more efficient, better coordinated, and hopefully, more patient-friendly.
But there is no doubt that the virtual visit is a fundamental alteration to the patient-physician encounter. Recent weeks have brought a massive and hurried adaptation that risks changing the ancient and sacrosanct practice of medicine. And as news, discoveries, ideas, and policies spin around in a flurry, now more than ever we must anchor ourselves in and cherish the wisdom of personal interactions. The place where it all starts.
1. A patient asked the author about the white coat to ________.
2. According to the passage, what does the author mean by “practice of medicine as an in-person endeavor”?
3. Why does the author say telemedicine is priceless in pandemic?
4. What is not the disadvantage of telemedicine for a doctor?
5. What is the author’s attitude to telemedicine?
问题1选项
A.suggest telemedicine lacks emotional communication
B.mock at the absurdity of the telemedicine
C.imply patients are not adapted to the telemedicine
D.assure the doctor is a certified one
问题2选项
A.Practice of medicine cannot be done by groups.
B.It involves physical and emotional interactions.
C.Patients should not hold on to the same doctor.
D.It needs great efforts to be a doctor.
问题3选项
A.It can make patients more comfortable.
B.It can replace the surgical operations.
C.It make treatment more convenient.
D.It charges nothing for real.
问题4选项
A.Less sense of accomplishment.
B.Susceptibility to be affected by tech-problems.
C.Surroundings are more important than usual.
D.More skills to be demanded from the doctor.
问题5选项
A.It’s imperfect but it has a bright future.
B.It’s urgent to upgrade the technology systems.
C.Telemedicine can take the place of the physical one.
D.All the in-person visits are irreplaceable.
第1题:C
第2题:B
第3题:C
第4题:D
第5题:A
第1题:
【选项释义】
A patient asked the author about the white coat to ________. 一位病人向作者询问白大褂的情况,以________。
A. suggest telemedicine lacks emotional communication A. 暗示远程医疗缺乏情感交流
B. mock at the absurdity of the telemedicine B. 嘲笑远程医疗的荒谬性
C. imply patients are not adapted to the telemedicine C. 暗示病人不适应远程医疗的要求
D. assure the doctor is a certified one D. 保证医生是一个合格的医生
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词white coat可以定位到文章第三段第一句“‘在我们开始之前,我必须问你一个问题。’一位长期病人在家里打电话问我:‘你穿白大褂了吗(Are you wearing your white coat)?’”,作者举这个事例是为了论证第二段最后一句的观点“但无论是病人还是临床医生都没有准备好(were prepared for it)”,所以才会问出这个看似荒谬的问题。因此C选项“暗示病人不适应远程医疗的要求”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“暗示远程医疗缺乏情感交流”和D选项“保证医生是一个合格的医生”在文中无法体现,属于无中生有;
B选项“嘲笑远程医疗的荒谬性”,由We both burst out laughing at the absurdity of the image(我们俩都为这荒谬的画面大笑起来)可知,荒谬的是病人看不到医生,医生却还穿着白大褂的画面,而不是远程医疗很荒谬,属于偷换概念。
第2题:
【选项释义】
According to the passage, what does the author mean by “practice of medicine as an in-person endeavor”? 根据这段话,作者所说的“把医学实践作为一种面对面的努力”是什么意思?
A. Practice of medicine cannot be done by groups. A. 医学实践不能由团体来完成。
B. It involves physical and emotional interactions. B. 它涉及生理和情感的互动。
C. Patients should not hold on to the same doctor. C. 病人不应该坚守在同一个医生那里。
D. It needs great efforts to be a doctor. D. 成为一名医生需要很大的努力。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词practice of medicine as an in-person endeavor可以定位到文章第四段最后一句“但有一件事一直是不变的:医学实践是一种面对面的努力(an in-person endeavor)”,接着第六段第一、二句说到“但是,与面对面的互动相比,虚拟交流似乎是贫瘠的,缺乏个人接触带来的丰富性(devoid of the richness the personal contact brings)。在像我这样的专业领域,很大程度上依赖于与患者及其护理人员的情感联系(depends on emotional connection with the patient and their caregivers)”,说明医学实践不仅仅是对生理上疾病的治疗,还需要情感上的联系和互动,这一点是远程医疗做不到的。因此B选项“它涉及生理和情感的互动。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“医学实践不能由团体来完成。”,C选项“病人不应该坚守在同一个医生那里。”和D选项“成为一名医生需要很大的努力。”在文中均没有提及,属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Why does the author say telemedicine is priceless in pandemic? 为什么作者说远程医疗在疫情期间是无价的?
A. It can make patients more comfortable.
A. 它可以使病人更舒服。
B. It can replace the surgical operations. B. 它可以取代外科手术。
C. It make treatment more convenient. C. 它使治疗更方便。
D. It charges nothing for real. D. 它不收取任何实际费用。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词priceless可以定位到文章第五段第一句“远程医疗的潜在好处很多,在平时很容易体会到;在疫情期间,它们是无价的(in the times of the pandemic they are priceless)”,接着下文解释了其原因“实现快速联系(quick contact)并保持护理的连续性(continuity of care)、对居住在偏远地区或不方便旅行(live in remote areas or cannot easily travel)的患者特别有用、不会有接触病毒的风险(without the risk of being exposed to the virus)”,说明远程医疗在疫情期间会使就诊更加便利。因此C选项“它使治疗更方便。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“它可以使病人更舒服。”,B选项“它可以取代外科手术。”和D选项“它不收取任何实际费用。”在文中均没有提及,属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
What is not the disadvantage of telemedicine for a doctor? 对医生来说,哪一项不是远程医疗的缺点?
A. Less sense of accomplishment. A. 少了成就感。
B. Susceptibility to be affected by tech-problems. B. 容易受到技术问题的影响。
C. Surroundings are more important than usual. C. 周围的环境比平时更重要。
D. More skills to be demanded from the doctor. D. 对医生的技能要求更高。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词disadvantage可以定位到文章第六段,本段第二句说到“虚拟就诊对我的要求更高(demanded more of me),但却感觉不那么有成就感(yet felt a lot less fulfilling)”,说明远程医疗确实对医生的要求更高,但这不是医生认为的缺点,问题在于没有成就感。因此D选项“对医生的技能要求更高。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“少了成就感。”,由yet felt a lot less fulfilling(但却感觉不那么有成就感),缺少成就感是医生认为的缺点,属于反向干扰;
B选项“容易受到技术问题的影响。”,由they all seemed to be plagued by annoying technical issues(他们似乎都被恼人的技术问题所困扰)可知,容易受到技术问题的影响是医生认为的缺点,属于反向干扰;
C选项“周围的环境比平时更重要。”,由And what to do about the omnipresent background noise of a lawn mower?(除草机的背景噪音无处不在,该怎么办?)可知,远程医疗对周围环境要求更高是医生认为的缺点,属于反向干扰。
第5题:
【选项释义】
What is the author’s attitude to telemedicine? 作者对远程医疗的态度是什么?
A. It’s imperfect but it has a bright future. A. 它不完美,但它有一个光明的未来。
B. It’s urgent to upgrade the technology systems. B. 迫切需要升级技术系统。
C. Telemedicine can take the place of the physical one. C. 远程医疗可以取代实体医疗的位置。
D. All the in-person visits are irreplaceable. D. 所有的面对面就诊都是不可替代的。
【考查点】观点态度题。
【解题思路】文章首先介绍了在疫情期间远程医疗发挥的作用,但接着提出了与面对面就诊相比,远程医疗存在的问题,最后说到随着时间的推移和技术的发展,远程医疗会更加高效、友好。由此可知,作者对远程医疗的态度是客观的,既肯定了它的优势,也指出了它的缺点,最后对其未来的发展提出了期望。因此A选项“它不完美,但它有一个光明的未来。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“迫切需要升级技术系统。”,C选项“远程医疗可以取代实体医疗的位置。”和D选项“所有的面对面就诊都是不可替代的。”说法均过于绝对,属于过度推断。