Remember your OT manners: Allison, Guest Blogger

Soapbox time!!  Let’s get sudsy!  I am writing this to let professionals know how important it is in healthcare to take your time and inform patients of what you are doing and why you are doing it.  My fiancé and I went to the hospital to visit his grandfather several months ago.  He is in his eighties and was put in the hospital due to pneumonia and dehydration.  He is very hard of hearing so when we spoke with him we had to talk loudly into his left ear.  We were just about to leave when a respiratory therapist came in to begin his breathing treatment.  She knocked on the door, came in, and went straight to business.  As soon as she put the mask over his face, he began to pull at it to take it off.  She stated to him that he couldn’t take it off.  As I sat there I wondered what I would think if I had been lying in bed in pain, and then someone comes in and puts something over my nose and mouth that is blowing cloud-like air all over my face.  Scary!  I quickly went over to his side and explained that she was giving him his breathing treatment to make it easier for him to breathe.  I told him that he just had to wear it for a little bit, and then they would come and take it off.  Everything was fine and he left it alone.  Was that so hard?  Two sentences.  Just a little bit of extra time…or she could have spoken while hooking up all of the equipment.  Do not underestimate the cognitive level of your patient, whether they are in a coma-like state or if they are elderly.  So, let’s take our time and remember that we are there for the well being of each patient we treat.  Get personal- it’s not the old, confused man in 408…It’s Mr. Smith! 

 

~Allison, MOTS

Feb 19, 2008 | Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 5