16 Tevet, 5779
One of the enduringly problematic aspects of medical and mental health care is that clinicians too often fail to heed the patient though WE are experts on what ails us! Medical and mental health professionals tend to dismiss that reality because THEY graduated from medical school, not us (not in every case, anyway).
The problem with that attitude is the condescension shown to and felt by patients.
In the days before health care acts (affordable and unaffordable), some patients considered themselves the clients/bosses of medical and mental health professionals. We knew that we could hire and fire them at will. Insurance brutalities have changed that reality, however. These days, a person needs to be independently wealthy in order to choose only the medical staff members whom they desire on their team. Sometimes we're stuck with snobs in white uniforms, prescriptions pads and stethoscopes in hand.
Thanks to social change initiatives, the overall picture is improving somewhat. The casual mood and almost democratic participation on the Internet has allowed different points of view to be shared, understood, and heeded.
A few examples of that are presented below. As indicated in the EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge book, I suggest that you share pro-patient content with your medical team. Alert the members to some realities that they need to comprehend in order to treat you in more optimal fashion.
“Despite my polite and respectful questioning of my doctors, I never had a treatment plan that addressed all my symptoms.”
The life lessons in the information above
are about the clinician''s need to
LISTEN TO AND HEED THE PATIENT!
are about the clinician''s need to
LISTEN TO AND HEED THE PATIENT!
We understand our medical issues
with personal experience and insights
that doctors need to know.
There's an entire chapter entitled
Listen to the Person Before You -
a Lesson for Caregivers
in
a Lesson for Caregivers
in
It starts on page 42.
Share it with your clinicians, just as the book directs ;^ D
As for people faced with life-altering changes in their health, appearance, and function: I remind myself and my life coaching clients (ill people who need to identify their priorities, then plan to meet their goals) that "This is my new 'normal.' I need to respect it and to work with it, NOT against it."
Want to cope with medical and/or mental health problems, including your need to see life in a helpful perspective?
Find the help that you need in the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.
Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your conversations and perspective with pro-patient points of view.
