This piece of art reminds me of what happened during the clinicals at general block. In the block I was assigned to a patient who had right CVA and left hemiparesis. The stroke also caused other complications whereby the patient sight was impaired hence the patient was blind. The patient also had slucchered speech and when I looked at the patient was to treat the functional problem; hence I did not pay attention to other complications caused by the stroke. However, I went on to treat the patient without knowing the patient was blind. The subjective assessment was not a success because the patient had speech problems.
During observation I took note that the patient had hemineglect. On that note I moved on to treatment which entailed treating the hemineglect by making the patient look over the affected side. I then told the patient to look at my hand which was on the affected side and when I saw that the patient could not look at my hand, I kept on encouraging him and telling him that it is not that difficult. The patient started to cry, and I could not understand why he was crying because in my mind it was a simple task. A nurse who wa in the ward tapped me in the shoulder and told me the patient is blind.
In that moment I realised how ignorant I was not to look thoroughly at the patient file and how I putted the patient in possible danger by not considering the appropriate contraindication. I also realised I did not show any signs of empathy, instead I wanted the patient to do the task and even when he cried, I did not understand his pain.
This experience taught me that professionalism and ethical decisions work hand in hand in a workplace and they should be applied equally. This also made me to gather all the important information from the patient folder and not filter it according to what I think is important for treatment of the patient. Finally, I learned having all information can help know the important contraindications to take note of when treating the patient and it is crucial to avoid putting the patient in danger.
To fellow health practitioners I would highly recommend that they thoroughly check the folder and most importantly do their research before they see the patient. In most placement we are not spoon fed and clinicians are not always there to assist, and we are expected to know what is important for the patient. It is vey vital to treat patient thoroughly and take note of the important precautions, because at each session as a health practitioners we are fully liable for the patient. More than anything in each scope of practice we should always make ethical decisions that are at the patients best interest cause they are humans too.
by zinziswa xeketwana 3755482
3 thoughts on “IGNORANCE”
You gave a good explanation of the event which gives a nice reflection, however you could try and link your art piece to the incident. You could explain why it made you think of that specific incident and maybe add some of your own interpretation of the art piece to your reflection. I think it would be a good idea to add in a reference or two to support the argument you are making.
Thank you for your post, I found it insightful and could see you learned from your experience. Something I’ve learned, is that blind people are not easy to spot as we think they are at times. I applaud your for your honesty as it is not easy to admit when one has made a mistake. I agree with you, that it is very important to read the patient’s file thoroughly and to ask the staff for assistance/ further information when coming across situations such as the one you experienced. I think you post will be enhanced by some references on the subject of handling patients with visual disturbances. What advise can you give your student colleagues and future students on possible signs of visual disturbances/ blindness in patients when perhaps the patient’s file does not mention it? Are there known policies in place for handling visually handicapped patients and is there any recommendations you could make to enhance and better such policies? How can we as healthcare providers tell the patient that we made a mistake and that the mistake was not theirs in a professional manner, without causing liability, but by still taking responsibly for our actions and how it has affected the patient and do you think doing this is an important step in gaining the patient’s trust?
Thank you, for you post and I will definitely keep in mind from now on, to check these important details in the patients file, and not to just assume and carry out the assessment without knowing if the patient can see. I can see that you know that you have made a mistake and that you are willing to learn from this.
Stefanie van Zyl
I understand what you tried to achieve here. Sometimes it is difficult treating patients when you do not know the full extent of their condition and it is also difficult to put yourself in their shoes and experience their feelings. Maybe try and ad a short piece of literature that talks about ignorance in some previous cases.