Carole Lauren is a 44 year old mother of two, a wife, and a school teacher by profession. Her story began 21 months ago when she had a cerebrovascular accident that left her hemiplegic. Almost two years passed since the event. Carole regained most of the lost function in her left leg, ankle, and foot. However, she still has limited function in her left arm and hand. She also has difficulty organizing her thoughts and read her message from a paper. Her story is about a journey through the health care system. Since the stroke, Carole has received care from multiple healthcare providers - some were better than others and she met many great people, but her overall care experience “could have been much better in many different ways”. Carole noticed while in the tertiary care how the staff seemed to be overworked. She also felt that they did not talk to each other and when they did, she felt left out and her opinions were not considered. Her primary care physician was not informed of Carol’s progress, neither did she know about any post-stroke support. Physiotherapy waiting list was extremely long. On multiple occasions she could not tell her care providers about each other for fear of repercussions. This eventually led to two uncoordinated treatment plans, as they “were not funded” to talk to each other. As I was listening to Carol’s story, I realized that her story is one of many patients. Sure, she was lucky that her husband had advocated on her behalf when she was most vulnerable and she took over once she could but how many people could not? Juggling only two balls in the air becomes tricky once we name them “patient care” and “budget”. If we were to place Carol in an ideal hospital, would she have had the same expe... ... middle of paper ... ... and explain complicated medical stuff in lame terms. It could also help with inter-professional communication because the specialists would only need to work with the coordinator and not worry about ten other professionals which can understandably be very time-consuming. Carol finishes her story with a plea for a better communication among the different healthcare providers and the system in general. There is no perfect system, and health care, the system that constantly evolves, deals with life and death, and employs people to fill such diverse niches is probably the most complex of them all, the most difficult to assess, comprehend, and change. As big, complex, and sometimes scary as it seems, it can be changed: talking to a colleague, taking a moment and asking a patient’s opinion. “Be the change you wish to see in the world”, said Gandhi. This is my motto.
“How can I make a difference?” that was the first thought when I learned about this assignment. When I was assigned a patient at the community health worker’s office I was nervous. I was given discharge papers and I was told I had 30 minutes left before seeing my patient in outpatient. By reading the documents I learned my patient was a 46 year old quadriplegic who was discharged from the Temple hospital for a DVT several weeks ago. I talked to Sherron, the
While John is under a great deal of stress, he is in the hands of seasoned professionals who all share the same goal, getting John better. St. Luke’s, a medical center geared towards helping veterans, has provided John a knowledgeable health care provider team to help meet his needs. John’s interprofessional team is being put together by John’s primary care physician, Dr. Jackson, and his licensed clinical social worker, Tessa. The team is kept small due to John’s reservations about opening up to people. The rest of his team will consist of a veterans affairs representative to help John seek any veterans benefits he is entitled to, as well as a mental health case manager. Lastly, a CNA assigned to help John integrate into life in a home with others while he tries to get a handle on his depression and Alzheimer’s.
This assignment is a case study that aims to explore the biospychosocial impacts of a myocardial infarction on a service user. It will focus on the interventions used by healthcare professionals throughout the patient’s journey to recovery. To abide by the NMC’s code of conduct (2015) which states that all nurses owe a duty of confidentiality to all those who are receiving care, the service user used in this case study will be referred to as Julie. Julie is a 67 year old lady who was rushed to her local accident and emergency following an episode of acute chest pain and was suspected to have suffered from a myocardial infarction. Julie who lives alone reported she had been experiencing shortness of breath and
Strokes. Generally, whenever we hear about someone who suffered from a stroke, the result is never good. Why is it that strokes are so dangerous and why is it so important for providers to recognize them as early as possible? What do we do when we suspect a patient is currently having an active CVA (cerebral vascular accident)? All of these are excellent questions that medical providers need to affluent in.
The healthcare world has simply grown too large, too quickly and, as a result, has forgotten the reason behind which it stands: the patient. Continuity of care is in dire need of repair and without effective communication and coordination of care, the problem will not be corrected.
Despite the established health care facilities in the United States, most citizens do not have access to proper medical care. We must appreciate from the very onset that a healthy and strong nation must have a proper health care system. Such a health system should be available and affordable to all. The cost of health services is high. In fact, the ...
Ideal patient-centered care consists of no mistakes, constant communication, no waiting time, cost savings for all patients, physicians who take their time with everyone, no ethical concerns and discrimination issues. In other words, all patients would be treated equally, where neither money nor race was ever an issue. That is describing the world of healthcare as being “perfect.” Unfortunately, nothing in this world is perfect. As a community we can work together to build patient-centered care that is close to perfect, but there are far too many flaws and opinions that will constantly be in the way from allowing that to
This module has enabled the author to understand the concept of vulnerability, risk and resilience in relation to stroke. Therefore, it will contribute to her professional development and lifelong learning (NES, 2012). Additionally, the author has gained evidence based knowledge of person-centred care, compassion and self-awareness; all of which can be used to inform future practice (Miller, 2008). Consequently, she will be able to provide the appropriate level of care that can make a difference to a person’s recovery.
Stroke survivors or anyone with chronic illness and health providers remain hopeful and “realistic” by counting on each other. The patients while being realistic about the outcome of their disease, stay hopeful that each of their health care providers will give them the appropriate care and will make sure that they can live with their disease in the best way possible.
As I began watching Reinventing Healthcare-A Fred Friendly Seminar (2008), I thought to myself, “man, things have changed since 2008.” And as the discussion progressed, I started to become irritated by how little had changed. The issues discussed were far-reaching, and the necessity for urgent change was a repeated theme. And yet, eight years later, health care has made changes, but many of its crucial problems still exist.
After visiting my grandparents several times I began to explore the hospital floor. Although shy at first, I began to talk with the patients and better understand their situations and difficulties. Each patient had his or her unique experiences. This diversity sparked an interest to know each patients individualized story. Some transcended the normal capacity to live by surviving the Holocaust. Others lived through the Second World War and the explosive 1960’s. It was at this time I had begun to service the community. Whenever a patient needed a beverage like a soda from the machine or an extra applesauce from the cafeteria, I would retrieve it. If a patient needed a nurse I would go to the reception desk and ask for one. Sometimes I played checkers or chess with them during lunch break. I also helped by mashing their food to make it easier to swallow. Soon, however, I realized that the one thing they devoured most and had an unquenchable thirst for was attention and the desire to express their thoughts and feelings. Through conversing and evoking profoundly emotional memories, I bel...
... often know their patients well enough to know details of their health status. Sadly however providers are becoming more and more specialized in order to increase efficiency and handle larger volumes of people. This is further fueled by the recent changes in healthcare reform; it’s inevitable that learning and telling a patient’s story has become an insignificant piece of the puzzle. Doctors simply can not scale to keep up with the ever growing number of health epidemics and so the story of a patient is slipping through the cracks and often has to be told and retold over and over. My view of this problem is a basic one and I believe is the root cause of why quality healthcare has become a rare commodity ties back to the lack of quality primary care where the doctor and the patient constantly communicate and the doctor has a good view of the patients health history.
Globally the leading reason for mortality and morbidity rate is stroke. Nearly twenty million individuals can suffer from stroke annually and around five million individuals won't survive [1]. The developing countries account for a median of 85% of worldwide deaths from stroke [2]. Stroke ends up in practical impairments with a median rate of two hundredth survivors who need institutional care once an amount of three months and 15%-30% are going to be disabled for good [3].
Mona Counts works in the village of Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania. It is a medically underserved area and a HPSA (health professional shortage area). The town has an extremely poor economic base and majority of Mona’s patient population are poverty level. Mona is not worried about the money and will tell a patient to come in for a check up, regardless of whether or not they have health care. One patient said, “she is old-fashioned, she talks to you and tells you what you nee...
To sum up, the book reminds us of the complexity and paradox of the medical profession: the limits of a medical culture that is excessively focused on curing disease and has lost sight of its equally important role in helping patients confronting death with dignity. What physicians can really do beyond cure is to open up and confront their own fears and doubts, and willing to prepare their patients for the "final exam" (Chen, 2007). Those with a career of caring for the ill have to continually confront their own human limitations if they are ever to become the type of doctors people value.