The above image, ‘The Patient’, is an art piece that was produced by a medical student in Bristol as part of their first year general practice placement assignment. The above art piece was selected to be utilized as part of my professional ethics task due to the fact that it serves as a reminder of a child who displays a variety of emotions which include sadness, frustration, fear and struggle.

This particular art piece  further served as reminder of one of the patients that I encountered during one of my clinical blocks, my third clinical block to be exact. My third clinical block was a pediatrics block which I attended at St Joseph’s Home. One afternoon, I had attended to all the patients assigned to me and as a result decided to sit in on one of my colleague’s physiotherapy sessions. The patient seen that particular afternoon was a 12 year old boy, who was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome and subsequently presented with lower limb neuropathy and weakness. Due to his current presentation the patient was issued a wheelchair of which he would utilize on daily basis in order to be mobile. It was indicated by his parents that prior to being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, this young boy was ambulant and was capable of performing all tasks his peers are capable of performing and due to the fact that he currently finds himself in a wheelchair, dependent on those around him, has been quite an adjustment for him. Therefore, my colleague’s main aim was to maximize the patient’s independence in functional activities such as getting in and out of a wheelchair which does require a great amount of upper limb strength. In this particular session, my colleague had focused on improving the strength of the patient’s triceps by instructing the patient to perform triceps lifts onto blocks of various heights. The patient executed the task expected of him with much ease however as he progressed to the blocks which were greater in height, it was evident that the patient encountered increased difficulty performing the task at hand. In spite of the fact that the patient had encountered great difficulty performing the task he attempted to perform the task countless times however ultimately failed. The patient became quite frustrated by his inability to perform the task expected of him and thus began to cry. Therefore, when looking at the above art piece it does indeed serve as a reminder of this particular patient due to the fact that he displayed emotions of frustration, sadness and struggle.

In that particular moment, when the patient relayed how frustrated he felt regarding the fact that he was unable to perform the expected task it caused me to be quite empathetic towards this young boy as well.  “Empathy is a complex capability enabling individuals to understand and feel the emotional states of others, resulting in compassionate behaviour” (Riess, 2017).  Due to the fact that it was quite difficult for me to witness the frustration and sadness that the patient was experiencing in that moment not only caused be to be quite empathetic towards the patient but further caused me to treat this patient with compassion which was displayed by the act of comforting the patient. Empathy is an essential component of physiotherapy-patient relationship. According to Riess (2017), empathy plays a vital interpersonal and societal role as it enables individuals to share experiences, needs, and desires and also provides an emotional bridge that ensures prosocial behaviour. Therefore, by being empathetic towards patients, physiotherapists as well as healthcare professionals ensure that they are acting in the best interest of the patients at all times irrespective of whether it benefits them directly.  According to Riess (2017), studies have shown that empathetic medical care is associated with many benefits which include improved patient experiences, adherence to treatment recommendations, better clinical outcomes, fewer medical errors and malpractice claims.  By being empathetic towards the patient and taking the time to be compassionate, the patient did not give up as he continued to perform the task expected of him and in spite of the fact that he was only able to lift himself up onto one of the blocks which were much greater in height it was at least a start and clearly displayed an improvement in the patient’s experience. This particular encounter has taught me that these situations do require some form of professional distance however, empathy does indeed play a critical role in the medical field as it enables one to identify patients as oneself  who presents with similar needs and who is deserving of the same respect and care. Empathy also urges one to extend oneself and be more attentive to the patient thus ensuring that the patient is prioritized at all times. Therefore, as a result of this single encounter I will strive to be empathetic towards my patients whilst ensuring that no professional boundaries are transcended.

References:

https://www.google.co.za/amp/s/blog.wellcome.ac.uk/2013/10/24/why-should-i-care-about-medical-humanities/amp/

Riess, H. (2017).  The Science of Empathy.  Journal of Patient Experience, Vol 4(2), 74-77