#patient first

[westbrookfamilydental]

Dental anxiety is real—and you’re not alone. 💙 Many patients fear the loss of control in the dental chair. A patient-first approach, simple “stop hand” signals, and starting with just a conversation can make all the difference. Comfort comes first, treatment second.

[allvictorious-blog]

So real quick, I want to talk about Patient First. I AM MOTHERFUCKING IN LOVE. So I went for a drug test on the 29th for a new job (that I start tomorrow) and when signing in they have an option for ‘male’, ‘female’, and ‘nonbinary and other’. So I picked ‘nonbinary and other’ and it has options for ‘transmale, transfemale, & nonbinary’ so i picked transmale. and then of course it also asks your gender at birth for health reasons BUT when I went back to do my drug test, they asked my preferred name AND I GOT TO USE THE RESTROOM OF THE GENDER I IDENTIFIED WITH. 

[homowan-kenobi]

When all you want to do is cry, but you're stuck at work and you have to hold it together for the patients you have to take care of 😔

[anywherebuthere20]

My nurse sounds like Miranda Sings

That moment when your nurse sounds just like Miranda Sings at patient first. I can’t stop laughing. ^_^

[gerundsandcoffee]

What I love about going into PT is that we have entire classes devoted to “patient-centered care.”  You get case studies about patients where you learn that they have all kinds of non-health related issues (e.g. they care for other sick members of their family, they’re 46 and yet they read at a 3rd grade level, they don’t have health insurance, etc.) before you even see their personal  health stuff.  All of those things are going to impact how they interact with you and how effective you can be in their healthcare.  

And healthcare is not one size fits all.  You can not hope to spit out rote information that will stick, much less create a meaningful connection with your patient.  When was the last time you said greater trochanteric bursitis to a 3rd grader and they knew what you meant?

Not to crap on doctors, but, as an example, “...orthopedic surgeons employ the Harris Hip score to judge the success of total hip replacements. It was designed solely by physicians and does not even ask patients to rate their satisfaction with the procedure; it answers questions important to doctors and thought to be important to patients.”

No, you go to where your patient is and ask how they want to engage in their own wellness.  You don’t throw it at them and leave them hanging.  You bring them in and make them the center of the situation, from which all final decisions will come.

[potoman]

Patient Last

Just when I thought I couldn't get more disappointed by the healthcare system in the US, I set foot in a so called "Patient First". I just needed a very simple injection that doesn't have side-effects & I've gotten before, prescribed by a doctor for a very real health issue. Something I was told yesterday on the phone wouldn't be a problem. After making me wait 1h in the most depressing patient room I've seen in a long time, a "doctor" came back to tell me they couldn't do it for me because he couldn't enter the act in the computer. And that after calling their corporate HQ he was told that it was against their regulations anyway. Also mumbled something about legal issues. 

I summoned my pretty crumbled self-control to explain calmly that I thought that doctors usually took an oath stipulating that they would do everything in their power to help patients & that everything was legal & in order in my case. Remember the Declaration of Geneva? 

I solemnly pledge to consecrate my life to the service of humanity; The health of my patient will be my first consideration;

First consideration, not third, not after corporate regulations & legal excuses. The blank stare devoid of all humanity I received in return made me realize I would be better off explaining my situation to a robot with a white coat. 

I'm not afraid of the rise of the machines anymore. They have already won.