Right, it's time for breaking news. Breaking bad news, that is.
(Note from your friendly neighbourhood slacker: You can simply read the bold, coloured, numbered points and skip the rest)
1. Do it in a private place
And by this, we don't mean the janitor's closet. Don't break bad news right in the corridor of the hospital, or in front of a roomful of people. Take the patient aside, bring them to your office (if you are lucky enough to have one), or to an empty room.
2. As soon as possible
Don't wait til you receive a call from the nearest mental hospital stating that your patient has just been admitted due to a nervous breakdown thanks to waiting for ten days for that ominous phone call about whether they tested positive or not. ASAP people. In this world, nobody likes waiting.
3. Both parents together
When breaking bad news regarding children, don't give part A to Dad and part B to Mum. Get them both together, and impart your news to them then.
4. In clear and appropriate language
Don't speak Greek. And don't rattle off medical jargon just because you know your stuff, show off! Explain in clear and concise everyday English Language, as how you would explain it to your grandparents, or parents, who are NOT in the medical field, mind you. And by everyday English Language, we would think it would exclude words like 'dude', 'stuff', 'uh', 'erm' and 'you know'.
5. Appropriate emotions
Don't go in there with a big grin on your face and say, "Sorry matey, seems like you've got CF afterall!" 'Nuff said.
6. Give time for the patient (and parents or other caregivers/loved ones) to ask questions
You are not going to liftoff in 10 seconds to a russian space station. Don't rush through your news and then leave. That self-directed latte can wait!
7. Answer questions in an empathic and non-judgmental manner
I suppose we can all be trusted to behave like the fine medical students we are, right? Right?!
8. Provide supplementary written material (when possible)
Fact: If all else fails i.e. you suddenly have a temporary mindwipe thanks to that all-nighter you pulled before the OSCE, remember this point, and you will be fine. Examples of supplementary written material would be brochures, flyers, booklets, what not. In these days, the supplementary material would also extend to informative websites. NOT wikipedia.org, mind you (no offense to the kind folks who contribute to it).
9. Follow-up consultation for soon after
Fact: very little (only about 10%) of the 1st consultation is absorbed by patients/caregivers. They probably heard: "I'm really sorry, but you have tested positive. Blah blah blah... moo...moo...bahh..bahh..." So set up a follow-up consultation for soon after the first visit. Give the patient time for the information to sink in, for them to read through your supp. written material, and come up with other questions.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Goji Berries... yes... I tried those too.for my health conditions, Those sweet, red berries seemed to help, but only during the time when I consumed them. I don't want to take a drug for the rest of my life, so why would I want to take a natural supplement everyday for the rest of my life (although Goji berries are very tasty and are highly nourishing). To me this was not a cure either (and I'm LOOKING for the CURE).
Up to that point, I hadn't found a cure. I felt like a young jumbled mess. I continued to have extreme pain, but continued on my path to healing. I started to focus on myself and not everyone else. When I was a young adult, I took on too much responsibility out of a sense of obligation. This was no longer healthy for me, so I resigned from all my projects and groups. Those days to come were the best [and worst] days. I took a lot of time off work, yet begun to feel so extremely exhausted. Many health professionals "diagnosed" me with adrenal fatigue & Hiv,Prostate Cancer so my situation was annoying then I keep searching for permanent cure online that's when I came to know of Dr Itua herbal center hands whom god has blessed with ancestral herbs and a gift to heal people with disease like .Cancers,Alzheimer's disease,HPV,Men & Women Infertility,Melanoma, Mesothelioma, Diabetes, Multiple myeloma, Parkinson's disease,Neuroendocrine tumors,Herpes, Hiv/Aids,Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma,, chronic diarrhea, COPD,Love spell, Hepatitis... So I made a purchase of his herbal medicines and I have been watching my health for 6 years now and I actually confirmed that his herbal medicines are a permanent cure and I'm so happy that I came to know of his herbal healings.You can contact Dr Itua herbal center Email: drituaherbalcenter@gmail.com WhatsApp: +2348149277967. if you went through exactly what I go through in terms of health conditions because really honest there is more to learn about natural herbs than medical drugs.
Post a Comment