Difficult situations experienced by Finnish doctors
Background The study explored the column Vaikea tapaus [Difficult case] published in the Mediuutiset from 2009 to 2024. The articles of the column present difficult situations experienced by physicians. The column was well-known and popular among the Finnish medical community.
Methods The study is based on 469 articles, and interviews of key figures. We describe and group the material and present examples of the cases. A qualitative analysis of the material will be presented in future publications.
Results Most of the articles discussed patient encounters. Factors underlying difficult situations were diverse. In the study, these were grouped into three categories related either to the patient, the physician, or medical knowledge. The column gave an opportunity to share with colleagues lessons learned from the encounters in a story form. The most repeated lessons were summarised into a list of 13 points.
Conclusions Vaikea tapaus preceded modern peer-support channels in the Finnish context. The articles discussed topics that were experienced difficult by Finnish physicians, but probably the most personal and most difficult cases were left untouched.
Jutta Myllyselkä, Päivi Hietanen, Maarit Pakarinen, Lotta Ropponen, Nina Tusa, Pekka Louhiala
