I am struck by the insistence on safety manifesting as stripping people of all physical objects that they could use to harm themselves. What about increasing safety by emphasizing the emotional connection that a patient has with staff members, so that they feel free to tell staff how they are feeling, and then navigate through those feelings without fear? Instead, the physical environment mitigates against emotional connection (i.e. the nursing station is often glassed off from the general hallway.)
Forgive me if I've already said this in a previous post: a long time ago, before I became a dr, I read an article about a med school program where students were required to spend a week in a hospital. I have not since been able to find this citation. It seemed to me like a brilliant idea.
Would that more programs did what yours did in terms of trainees having the experience of being dehumanized in the process of turning into a patient. I would advocate for a mandatory experience on a psych unit or in the ER!
If anyone is interested in finding a way to turn this idea into actually policy, please lmk.
I have to believe that valid research involving patient feedback on emergency room and hospital protocols would be feasible. Few people who actually want to harm themselves would take the time to cooperate in research to improve hospital policies- people don't go to the hospital to harm themselves. They harm themselves in hospitals because of pre-existing illness and inadequate care.
Clinicians have unfortunately become so disempowered in contemporary healthcare bureaucracy that their input means very little to administrators who make all the decisions and set the policies 😞
Wonderful article. So many hospitals and wards seem almost designed to harm our health, even small additions of colour in those sterile clinical hellholes that sometimes act as our homes for months or years would make a difference
I am struck by the insistence on safety manifesting as stripping people of all physical objects that they could use to harm themselves. What about increasing safety by emphasizing the emotional connection that a patient has with staff members, so that they feel free to tell staff how they are feeling, and then navigate through those feelings without fear? Instead, the physical environment mitigates against emotional connection (i.e. the nursing station is often glassed off from the general hallway.)
Forgive me if I've already said this in a previous post: a long time ago, before I became a dr, I read an article about a med school program where students were required to spend a week in a hospital. I have not since been able to find this citation. It seemed to me like a brilliant idea.
Would that more programs did what yours did in terms of trainees having the experience of being dehumanized in the process of turning into a patient. I would advocate for a mandatory experience on a psych unit or in the ER!
If anyone is interested in finding a way to turn this idea into actually policy, please lmk.
I have to believe that valid research involving patient feedback on emergency room and hospital protocols would be feasible. Few people who actually want to harm themselves would take the time to cooperate in research to improve hospital policies- people don't go to the hospital to harm themselves. They harm themselves in hospitals because of pre-existing illness and inadequate care.
Clinicians have unfortunately become so disempowered in contemporary healthcare bureaucracy that their input means very little to administrators who make all the decisions and set the policies 😞
Yes but young clinicians like you could change that! Work may be possible at the level of state medical societies, etc. But, yes.
Great article, thank you. Little to be said (or shouted) other than: “Hear, hear!”
Wonderful article. So many hospitals and wards seem almost designed to harm our health, even small additions of colour in those sterile clinical hellholes that sometimes act as our homes for months or years would make a difference