`My Dilemma

One week later and I am still thinking; I am not sure which way to go with my dissertation ideas. I wish the answer was easy. I envy those who made up their minds earlier based on their current occupations. Today, I had a new idea which could help me make forward movement if it has any water in it, as they say.

I am thinking of doing a basic research, one that explores a new idea to be titled: Empowering Patients through Strategic Questioning.  This is the same, in my opinion, as saying give patients space to specify their expectations and provide feedback all along the way through the health care system. More specifically that means all health care providers, including the receptionists should be trainined to treat patients as special stakeholders in the system rather than as customers.

Many professionals have said this, but it is worthy saying again. The hospital is the one place where people generally hate to go; it is the one place where they may be forced to stay against their will; the patient expects hotel quality service, and above all, expects to pay little or nothing for services provided. In fact, the hospital can be a place of emotional, physical, and spiritual turmoil. Many people coming to the hospital are afraid of what might happen or what diagnosis may be made while in the hospital. All the years I practiced as a medical laboratory technologist I was aware of the dichotomy of health care ministry.

A lady came to the laboratory once wanting to know if she was pregnant. The urine test came out positive and I recall her words as she sat in the chair with a blank stare. '"Why?" In that moment, her life came to a standstill; she was totally transformed.  I also recall on so many occasions when a person's life was touched this way or that way by all manner of issues. Cancer, HIV, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other issues affecting the human body.

The last thing one wants to find in the hospital are workers who do not care; especially the reception desk that happens to be the face of the hospital. Tenderness and empathy should accompany all those working in the health care system. Doctors, nurses, technicians, pharmacist, and non professionals too. Whoever works in the health care system should be trained to deal with patients with a degree of sensitivity.

Having said that, it is easy to overlook the fact that workers in the hospital are almost always working under pressure. This is the dichotomy I refer to. To be able to care requires someone who also feels cared for. Nurses and doctors also need to be cared for. Oftentimes as a patient we may forget that health care workers have needs too. It is not hard to see this problem multiplying itself many times over in the system where one patient is not the last one, and where some patients have challenging characters.

What are your expectations?

This question can be applied in an empowering way. Health care providers should not provoke patients to fear; instead they should learn to de-escalate tensions and fears patients may have. Some fun, some humor, some empathy can come out of the initial contact.
By asking this question (What are your expectations?) of patients as they walk into the hospital, the provider can empower the patient to consider not only what he or she might get out of the system for themselves but also what they may contribute to the system.
I have noticed in some of the good clinics that at the reception desk they have a video playing showing diseases and how to go about diagnosing and treating them. This, in my opinion, was not empowering the patient; it reinforced fears that a person might have already. What do people really need when they come to the reception desk? I suspect many patients would say they want to be heard. They want to tell their stories.