Currently I am on my cardiopulmonary prac. I have been alocated this patient -
Mr E is a 68yo man who is one day post distal gastrectomy and gastrojejonostomy for a gastric adenocarcinoma. His PMH consists of - PVD, GORD, appendectomy, asthma, gout, glaucoma. His SHx - live alone, has no friends or family in perth. His nursing obs are WNL, SpO2 99% on 2L O2. He has Iv line, PCA, NGT and 2x V'Vac insitu.
This looks like an every day surgical patient on my ward. The only difference was this patient was congenitally deaf (ie born deaf) and was partially blind. The hospital had organised an interpreter to come to the hospital at a certain time so the doctors and the patient could communicate. The nursing staff were using a white board to communicate instructions and ask questions.
Previously to studying physiotherapy I studied AUSLAN (Australian Sign Language) for 2 years full time. Im a little rusty and I do need practice but still able to communicate with a deaf person using sign language. I also took a course in how to communicate with a deaf-blind person but this patient was not congentially blind so he did not know this language. I found it really helpful to beable to understand sign language and even tho I muddled up a few signs I think the patient was less anxious to get OOB after surgery as he had some way of communicating how he felt without the interpreter there.
Working with a deaf person also showed to me the importance of demonstration. Demonstration is the key to all understanding I believe (unless the pt is blind ofcourse!). It shows the patient exactly what is going to happen and what you want for them. This was a very valuable learning experience.
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2 comments:
hey, great post. It's always hard when you can't verbally communicate with a patient. I've always wanted to learn sign language. It's an international language! I guess it's quite similar to Rx-ing pt that doesn't speak english. The use of non-verbal language is important and unfortunately the uni doesn't teach us this.
Good work. I think there's is a connection between you and the patient and a good rapport is built.
That is such an amazing skill to have when dealing with patients. I have found on prac you have to so careful of what signals you send out to patients when instructing them. Often when giving verbal instructions I will also be giving a small demonstration. THe amount of times a patient will simply copy you then actually listen to you is incredible. I have also found that sometimes what i'm doing is slightly different to what i'm saying as I am concentrating more on the verbal instructions. Invariably the patient will follow the physical prompts over the verbal prompts. This has taught me to be much more careful with my instructions and demonstrations.
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