How I Lost My First Patient as a New Doctor

Udochukwu Glory Maduka, MB.BS. Freelance Health Writer and DLHA Volunteer. 

Dr. Udochukwu Glory Maduka

19th of February, 2025—a date forever etched in my memory.

It was my first week in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) department of a Southeastern State hospital in Nigeria. I was recently employed there as an Intern and just resumed in the Reproductive and Infertility Unit. 

That Wednesday, ward rounds had ended before I settled in, so I officially began the next day with a clinical conference and later joined my first gynecology clinic.

I was excited but nervous. I met the brilliant team—Professors, Consultants, Registrars—all warm and welcoming. I was instructed to watch, learn, and follow through carefully. 

Then, I got my first assignment to clerk a 42-year-old lady, named Nweke Joy (not her real name) who had been admitted to the ward and scheduled for a myomectomy (surgical removal of fibroids from women who still desire to get pregnant, but are having problematic heavy bleeding) the next day.

In medical terms, clinical clerking means taking patients' history, physically checking them, taking body fluid samples as needed for sending to the laboratory and documenting everything in their hospital notes for record purpose. This is a job that is often assigned to junior doctors as part of their training in patient care.I did all these and felt accomplished.

On Friday of the surgery, the team arrived early and set about getting Joy ready. I was assigned to place an intravenous line in Joy. This was my first experience of doing so as a fresh graduate. I was thrilled to accomplish the procedure successfully. 

The surgery lasted four hours and was successful—a big-sized leiomyoma (fibroid) measuring nearly 6 inches in diameter, approximating a small to medium size watermelon and weighing about 4 kg (the average weight of a 1-2 months old baby) was removed from Joy’s womb with other smaller ones.

Joy was moved to the recovery room immediately after the surgery for observation. She came off the effect of the general anaesthetic agents that were given to put her to sleep, make her pain free and relax her muscles for the surgery. The agents consisted of a combination of special inhaled gases and other intravenous drugs.

She was eventually transferred to the female ward after almost one and a half hours in the recovery room.

I left the hospital that day tired but fulfilled.

Then came Saturday morning and I got a call from the senior house officer on duty; who after expressing the usual early morning greetings, said in a staright forward and unemotional voice: “Joy died overnight from Pulmonary embolism.”. 

He added few more details, saying her death was sudden and rapid and that the doctors on call tried everything to save her but she did not survive.

I was in shock. My heart sank. I said to myself that the team did everything right—or so I thought. It was my first experience of a patient’s death as a doctor. The emotional weight was heavy. I had so many questions.

Although I had been taught as a medical student that Pulmonary Embolism could be rapidly fatal, that day, I realized first-hand how fast, silent and deadly it can strike.

So, in this post, I want to not only share my experience but also educate you on this serious and complex condition that caused the sudden death of my first assigned and clerked patient. 

Learn more about pulmonary embolism from my consumer educational post in the link below.

Pulmonary Embolism Explained To Africans

Related: Fibroid; What Every African Woman Should Know

About the author:

Dr Udochukwu Glory Maduka, is a health content writer passionate about promoting simple and evidence based health knowledge, wellness and self-development towards empowering people to live better and healthier.

Published: August 4, 2025

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