[Reflections] The virtue of honesty in medicine

During a recent intensive care unit (ICU) admission for an infant with viral bronchiolitis who had been started on high-flow nasal cannula oxygen, I gathered a history and physical with a resident doctor. The patient's mother, a first-time parent and clearly terrified by her child's laboured breathing, looked at me and asked, “Is she going to be okay?” Drawing on the many similar cases I’ve managed, I replied, “Yes. She's going to be just fine.” After we left the room, the resident turned to me and said, “I feel like you lied to that mom.