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I'd like to get some alternate points of view on something that I think about quite often and see where exactly the happy medium lies. Eventually I would like to be a doctor and I don't want something like this to undermine my knowledge and lose all patient confidence.
Professionalism vs. Realism
Let me start off by giving you some observations and examples, then I will refine my question a little more.
I am 24 years old and I work as an Emergency Room Tech at a Level II trauma facility. I have aspirations to become a doctor and eventually a trauma surgeon. My current situation is complicated, and instead of getting into it right now, you can check out the first thread I posted at these forums here. It might give you a better idea of where I'm coming from or on the other hand it could just waist 10 minutes of your time. Your call…
Anyways…At work people call me "Patch" because they know that I want to be a doctor and because I'm also very well known for my sense of humor. I understand that there is a time and a place for all things. For the most part, I try to keep things light hearted because in the thousands of hours that I have patient contact, I have found that almost every patient or family member of a patient want the same things:
1. They want to know that they will be "ok"
2. They want the pain gone
3. They want the person on the other side of the gurney to be empathetic, genuine, and most importantly a REAL identifiable person.
4. …and sometimes more pain meds.
Because of the duties that my job entails, I don't have specific patient assignments, therefore I am able to interact with everyone in the ER, not just a segregated few. I have found that when I sit down and talk to a patient and joke around with them, they feel a lot more "at-ease" about their situation. I don't ever lie to them and say we are going to be able to fix you up and send you home by dinner; I tell them the truth. "Unfortunately, you are probably going to be here a while because we want to figure out what is going on. If I can get you anything like a warm blanket (which by the way has incredible analgesic properties) or something to eat or drink, let me know. It might be bit because we are really busy, but I'll do my best. Here is your call light which lets us know you need something. If that doesn't seem to be working, I guarantee that pulling that CODE BLUE button will get our attention right quick!" Usually they will laugh, smile, thank me then settle in. I've also told people that have come in + ETOH that next time they need to pee, let us know so we can make sure that they get it in a urinal and don't get it on their pants again, because we need to send a sample to the lab. However, if they aren't going to be able to give a donation because they already gave at the office, then we might have to come in after it, and between you and I…OUCH!
Maybe I am able to get away with this because I they seem me as a 24 year old punk kid and don't have the associated responsibility that comes with being a doctor or a nurse. But time and time again I've seen patients comfort and confidence levels go up with someone whom they can fell they can relate. They cannot stand medical personnel that are cold and disingenuine.
HOWEVER! (and this is where I am asking for your opinion), I would never ever want to jeopardize the confidence that a patient has in their physician because they think that they are just a clown. Going under the knife can be scary, but how much worse would it be if the person under it thought that the person holding it was incompetent of doing their job? So where does that fine line lay? Humoring a patient when it is appropriate is a sure way to gain their trust and confidence, which to any medical person is priceless, however crossing that line can be detrimental to the patient/staff relationship. Where is that line and how do you keep form crossing it?
Thanks for your time and your comments if you so choose…
~Will Smith
P.S. To this day I have never had a patient pull the code blue button to get my attention. There was an + ETOH guy that did it, but his BA was around 365 and we peed on the wall and pulled the button down thinking it was the flusher…
Professionalism vs. Realism
Let me start off by giving you some observations and examples, then I will refine my question a little more.
I am 24 years old and I work as an Emergency Room Tech at a Level II trauma facility. I have aspirations to become a doctor and eventually a trauma surgeon. My current situation is complicated, and instead of getting into it right now, you can check out the first thread I posted at these forums here. It might give you a better idea of where I'm coming from or on the other hand it could just waist 10 minutes of your time. Your call…
Anyways…At work people call me "Patch" because they know that I want to be a doctor and because I'm also very well known for my sense of humor. I understand that there is a time and a place for all things. For the most part, I try to keep things light hearted because in the thousands of hours that I have patient contact, I have found that almost every patient or family member of a patient want the same things:
1. They want to know that they will be "ok"
2. They want the pain gone
3. They want the person on the other side of the gurney to be empathetic, genuine, and most importantly a REAL identifiable person.
4. …and sometimes more pain meds.
Because of the duties that my job entails, I don't have specific patient assignments, therefore I am able to interact with everyone in the ER, not just a segregated few. I have found that when I sit down and talk to a patient and joke around with them, they feel a lot more "at-ease" about their situation. I don't ever lie to them and say we are going to be able to fix you up and send you home by dinner; I tell them the truth. "Unfortunately, you are probably going to be here a while because we want to figure out what is going on. If I can get you anything like a warm blanket (which by the way has incredible analgesic properties) or something to eat or drink, let me know. It might be bit because we are really busy, but I'll do my best. Here is your call light which lets us know you need something. If that doesn't seem to be working, I guarantee that pulling that CODE BLUE button will get our attention right quick!" Usually they will laugh, smile, thank me then settle in. I've also told people that have come in + ETOH that next time they need to pee, let us know so we can make sure that they get it in a urinal and don't get it on their pants again, because we need to send a sample to the lab. However, if they aren't going to be able to give a donation because they already gave at the office, then we might have to come in after it, and between you and I…OUCH!
Maybe I am able to get away with this because I they seem me as a 24 year old punk kid and don't have the associated responsibility that comes with being a doctor or a nurse. But time and time again I've seen patients comfort and confidence levels go up with someone whom they can fell they can relate. They cannot stand medical personnel that are cold and disingenuine.
HOWEVER! (and this is where I am asking for your opinion), I would never ever want to jeopardize the confidence that a patient has in their physician because they think that they are just a clown. Going under the knife can be scary, but how much worse would it be if the person under it thought that the person holding it was incompetent of doing their job? So where does that fine line lay? Humoring a patient when it is appropriate is a sure way to gain their trust and confidence, which to any medical person is priceless, however crossing that line can be detrimental to the patient/staff relationship. Where is that line and how do you keep form crossing it?
Thanks for your time and your comments if you so choose…
~Will Smith
P.S. To this day I have never had a patient pull the code blue button to get my attention. There was an + ETOH guy that did it, but his BA was around 365 and we peed on the wall and pulled the button down thinking it was the flusher…
