Lately I've been hanging out in hospitals, walking past hospitals and thinking about hospitals. I'm fine, by the way. I've been working as a simulated patient, managing a mental health simulation project and often grabbing a coffee and sandwich in the cafeteria.
Walking through the ground floor of the busy Alfred Hospital in Melbourne I'm struck by being amongst the walking wounded. There are people on crutches, arms are in slings, people have tubes in their nostrils, they trail drip stands. Walking outside, there is usually an array of people assembled out on the footpath smoking. Today I saw a woman sitting at the tram stop wearing a pink dressing gown. She had a tube going into her nose and she had to move the tube out of the way so she could put her cigarette in her mouth! With the weather becoming cooler as we approach winter, I was surprised to see a man standing in bare feet, wearing nothing but a hospital gown out on the footpath getting his fix.
The other thing that is noticeable is the incredibly detailed conversations people have on their mobile phones in lifts and hallways. Today I travelled six floors with a woman who was describing her potential liver failure and the fact that the doctor is recommending extreme changes to her diet to avoid the need for diabetes medication and that all of this needs to happen before surgery could be considered. Her tone suggested that she could have been booking a carpet cleaner or organising her car for a service. I looked at her again - she did seem to be a funny colour.
Having spent the day working with paramedics (being a simulated patient and giving feedback on their communication) I then visited the Medicare office to lodge my claim for some recent medical expenses. The place was packed! I had to squeeze into a space between two people who looked like they had been there for a while. After five minutes the voice of the automated queue lulled us into calm - "A123 go to counter 4". I had A 138 so it would be a while. Twenty minutes to be exact. There were ten counter bays and there were staff at three of them to begin with. After a while, closed signs went up at two of the bays and the voice of the automated queue fell silent for ten minutes. Then two people came back and things started moving again.
An older man expressed a lack of patience for waiting. Two people with exotic accents asked when is a quiet time to come back and how long would they have to wait. Someone was told it would be four weeks before they would receive their Medicare card. A good looking man wearing a jumper with the logo for King Kong the musical came in - one of the dancers claiming for a work related injury? Largely people sat in silence and played with their phones.
A138 was called to counter number 4 and within 90 seconds my claim had been lodged and I was being advised that the money would be in my bank account tomorrow. Surely there's a way that could be lodged online?
This week is a week of health care education: today was the paramedics, tomorrow is mental health, Thursday I'll be trained in the role I'll be playing i upcoming medical exams and on Friday I'll be at the College of Surgeons working with healthcare educators who are learning about working with simulation as a teaching tool.
In the meantime, if you want to watch people and contemplate the frailty of human existence, the hospital cafeteria or hospital footpath are rich with examples.
How's your week looking?
Showing posts with label paramedic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paramedic. Show all posts
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Sunday, 19 August 2012
I'm all heart - and it's beating!
On Friday I was hooked up to an ECG machine and being attended to by several paramedics. It was an interesting day and there was nothing at all wrong with my heart.
I was playing a role and providing feedback about communication* to postgraduate paramedic students. The character I was playing was complaining of tightness in the chest, but didn't know the paramedics had been called. It took a lot of convincing before I would let the paramedics attend to me. Apparently this does happen.
This resistance was the hardest part of the role. If I really had something wrong with my heart, you wouldn't need to convince me to do something about it.
During the first scenario with the first student, I had this sudden worry as he was taking my blood pressure and pulse - I hope he doesn't find anything wrong! I may have been playing the role of someone else, but it was MY pulse, blood pressure and heart he was assessing!
I waited, a little nervously, for the results.
The last time I had my blood pressure taken it was a little on the high side and my doctor sent me for some investigations to rule out things like kidney problems before seeing if adjustments to lifestyle**could bring it down. My blood pressure was very good. (The bottom number was 70, last time it was 85.) I was amazed and pleased. Within the scenario when my blood pressure was being taken, I was highly agitated and very stressed, but this didn't show up in my blood pressure. Yet another of the mysteries of acting.
Being hooked up to an ECG machine is a little freaky. It's a fairly intimidating piece of equipment. Suddenly you can see your heart rhythms and hear your heartbeat. I was curious to know what all the different sensors were measuring, but didn't have the opportunity to find out. The main thing is that my heart is great! I thought my mini health checks were a great perk for this job.
Coming at the end of a week where I've been running workshops on empathy for undergraduate paramedic students (and other health care disciplines) it was really interesting to be in these encounters. I've learned so much about paramedics. As I approach another week of empathy workshops, having the context of my (fictional) encounters on Friday will surely enrich my facilitation.
DID YOU KNOW the machine which measures blood pressure is called a sphygmomanometer. Try saying that five times, fast!
*The main communication issues came down to really simple things and are useful for everyone in all settings:
1. Use the name of the person you're talking to. Many people ask for a name and then fail to use it. Using a person's name creates intimacy and connection within the conversation, whatever its purpose or situation.
2. Don't use jargon. It is alienating. Listen for the words the other person uses and reflect their language.
3. Think about where you are positioned in relation to the person you're talking to. You can change the dynamics of the conversation by changing your "level" eg standing, sitting, stepping back.
4. Focus on the needs of the other person. If someone is resisting doing what you need them to do, find out what matters to them and think about how doing what you need will actually help them meet their own needs.
** The main lifestyle factor that's different is actually my work. I'm self employed now and while there are stresses, I feel that I'm living in a way that is more true to who I am. I think this is the single biggest thing that has helped with my blood pressure. (No medication required.)
__________
There's still time to win a 2-for-1 pass to see The Sapphires. Entries close today, Sunday 19 August. There are still a few left! Details on how to enter are here.
I was playing a role and providing feedback about communication* to postgraduate paramedic students. The character I was playing was complaining of tightness in the chest, but didn't know the paramedics had been called. It took a lot of convincing before I would let the paramedics attend to me. Apparently this does happen.
This resistance was the hardest part of the role. If I really had something wrong with my heart, you wouldn't need to convince me to do something about it.
During the first scenario with the first student, I had this sudden worry as he was taking my blood pressure and pulse - I hope he doesn't find anything wrong! I may have been playing the role of someone else, but it was MY pulse, blood pressure and heart he was assessing!
I waited, a little nervously, for the results.
The last time I had my blood pressure taken it was a little on the high side and my doctor sent me for some investigations to rule out things like kidney problems before seeing if adjustments to lifestyle**could bring it down. My blood pressure was very good. (The bottom number was 70, last time it was 85.) I was amazed and pleased. Within the scenario when my blood pressure was being taken, I was highly agitated and very stressed, but this didn't show up in my blood pressure. Yet another of the mysteries of acting.
Being hooked up to an ECG machine is a little freaky. It's a fairly intimidating piece of equipment. Suddenly you can see your heart rhythms and hear your heartbeat. I was curious to know what all the different sensors were measuring, but didn't have the opportunity to find out. The main thing is that my heart is great! I thought my mini health checks were a great perk for this job.
Coming at the end of a week where I've been running workshops on empathy for undergraduate paramedic students (and other health care disciplines) it was really interesting to be in these encounters. I've learned so much about paramedics. As I approach another week of empathy workshops, having the context of my (fictional) encounters on Friday will surely enrich my facilitation.
DID YOU KNOW the machine which measures blood pressure is called a sphygmomanometer. Try saying that five times, fast!
*The main communication issues came down to really simple things and are useful for everyone in all settings:
1. Use the name of the person you're talking to. Many people ask for a name and then fail to use it. Using a person's name creates intimacy and connection within the conversation, whatever its purpose or situation.
2. Don't use jargon. It is alienating. Listen for the words the other person uses and reflect their language.
3. Think about where you are positioned in relation to the person you're talking to. You can change the dynamics of the conversation by changing your "level" eg standing, sitting, stepping back.
4. Focus on the needs of the other person. If someone is resisting doing what you need them to do, find out what matters to them and think about how doing what you need will actually help them meet their own needs.
** The main lifestyle factor that's different is actually my work. I'm self employed now and while there are stresses, I feel that I'm living in a way that is more true to who I am. I think this is the single biggest thing that has helped with my blood pressure. (No medication required.)
__________
There's still time to win a 2-for-1 pass to see The Sapphires. Entries close today, Sunday 19 August. There are still a few left! Details on how to enter are here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)