While on placement in a medical ward, my supervisor and I encountered a lady who was very deconditioed as she had been in hospital for a long period of time. My supervisor stated that the patient’s condition had grown worse in this period. The patient was no longer able to walk and needed maximal assistance with bed mobility. My supervisor had not witnessed any voluntary movement or contraction of the leg muscles and it appeared sensation was impaired. My supervisor came to the conclusion that the patient’s legs were not functioning possibly due to some kind of nerve block from the spinal cord. This was stated to the doctors and repeatedly written in the patient notes. However the medical team did not seem to pay much attention to this, until finally one day during ward rounds they asked the patient to stand up. Since the patient’s legs were not functioning the patient fell over. This then prompted the doctors to do a MRI and the results showed oedema which was compressing the spinal cord. The patient then received treatment for this.
This situation evoked strong frustration in my supervisor and I as it appeared the medical team did not respect our opinion and consequently placed the patient in danger and delivered compromised patient care. This situation occurred due to a suboptimal working relationship with the medical staff.
This situation shows the need for an open relationship between health professionals to exist to allow optimal patient care. This situation highlights the need for improvement in communication within this ward.
IF I WAS TO EXPERIENCE A SIMILAR SITUATION, I WOULD PURSUE THE ISSUE MORE STRONGLY AND VISIT THE PATIENT WITH THE TEAM AND SHOW THEM MY FINDINGS. I WOULD ALSO WORK HARD TO ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DOCTORS, WHICH ALLOWS CONCERNS FOR PATIENTS TO BE AIRED OPENLY.
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2 comments:
I think its important for good communication with medical staff and physios. I think that not all wards experience this problem because on the ward I'm on the moment the medical team specifically come and ask us physios how patients are going which shows they value our input into the patients rehab. This shows a health relationship, and also makes us feel mighty important!
At times being a student is difficult as we are not always taken seriously by other medical staff. But one thing i have learnt is that if we show confidence when we lay out our case to the team or other medical staff they tend to take us a little bit more seriously. So the key is to know the case thoroughly before approaching them and make them listen to you, in other words be persistent. Also I agree that establishing a relationship with the medical staff helps in comunicating patients issues more openly.
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