Week 11: ER
- Laura Palmer
- Apr 9, 2019
- 2 min read
This week was fairly quiet at the ER. I spent most of my morning chatting with a young patient who I am going to use as the foundation for my case study. As this patient was a teenager with no medical background, chatting with the patient provided an excellent opportunity for me to work on my patient communication. In the paramedic program, we are learning a lot of new medical conditions and terminologies. This new language means very little to the general population so when we are talking to patients we need to ensure that we are communicating in a manner that uses plain language otherwise we will not obtain the information we require for proper treatment. As I had lots of time yesterday morning, I was able to take my time with thinking of the best way to ask questions. My strategy with asking questions was to start with simple questions and ask for increasing information as the patient allowed.
When communicating with the patient, two interesting learning points came up. The first is that I asked the patient a question and they did not feel comfortable disclosing an answer. I told them that it was not a problem at all and we could talk about something else. If this had been a medical emergency where I needed to know the answer to the question, I would have explained my rationale for wanting to know the information to the patient. I would also reaffirm with the patient that all communication is confidential. Hopefully these two techniques will lead to increased disclosure when information is necessary.
The other learning point was when I had asked all of my medical questions, the patient asked why I had not asked any questions about them. The patient wanted me to ask questions relevant to their interests and to learn more about them as a person. My conversation had been truly one-sided and they wanted me to learn about them as a person, not just a patient. I am grateful that the patient pointed this out to me as it reminds me that we are always helping a person. Focusing on the individuality of the patient will lead to greater patient-centred care and should hopefully lead to patients being more comfortable with us.
Hi Jess,
I tried to keep my questioning fairly open-ended with the patient such as: Can you tell me about when you were first diagnosed? Did you notice any changes physically? How do you feel now everyday? Do you feel affected by your diagnosis?
Keeping the questions open meant I did not have to use as much medical terminology and I could let the patient lead the discussion.
Have a great final week!
Laura Palmer
Hi Haley,
When talking with the teenage patient, I tried to use as few medical terms as possible. I tried to use general language that the majority of people would understand. I noticed that the patient seemed quite comfortable talking to us as we are younger and closer in age and I don't think they would have been quite as comfortable talking to an adult who was older. When speaking to an older generation patient, I think it is always important to be respectful with language and not use short forms or slang terms that are not part of their vocabulary.
Have a great final week :)
Laura Palmer
Hi McKayla,
Thanks for reading my blog! I think the first step to providing individuality is to always as the patient name and refer to them by their name. I think also discussing all medical procedures and allowing the patient to be included in their healthcare will help with individuality. For less serious calls, I could talk with the patient enroute to the hospital and ask them about their interests.
Increasing the complexity didn't necessarily allow the patient to gain more trust but meant that I was able to more effectively obtain medical information by starting with simpler questions and increasing in depth once the patient understood what I was asking.
Have a good final week as well :)
Laura…
Hey Laura,
Glad to hear you had a good day in the ER! I definitely agree with you about using plain language with patients to make communication easier. What types of question did you ask your patient? Did you use any specific words or phrases instead of medical language?
Good luck on your last week of clinical! - Jessica Clarke
Hi Laura,
It's great that you focused on your communication techniques while emerge was slower. When speaking to the teenager, in what ways did you change your communication to be able to create an on-going conversation? What did you find different when speaking to that patient over speaking to a older generation patient? When the patient wanted to fill you in on information about themselves, it makes you realize that they are trusting you with the information they are giving out, which will then enhance the trust between you and the patient when trying to gain for information.
Best of luck at your next shift!
-Haley V