"Working with patients in situations like these reminds me how important it is to convey information to the appropriate hospital staff and to fight the urge to try to help a patient in situations where we as AIRs are ill equipped to address properly."
Sometimes, when I enter a room of a patient I have worked with before, they begin to tell me everything that has happened in their lives since the last time we worked together and often, being a patient with a serious diagnosis, the life updates aren't filled with happy news. Today, I rolled my art cart into a patient's room and found a male patient who seem pleasantly surprised to see me. Of course, I thought the excitement was related to the prospective artmaking, but as I later found out, he just wanted someone to vent to. Basically, he was fuming because his wife had just kicked him out and had accused him of having a drinking problem and being abusive. Upon hearing this, I told him that I couldn't help him with that part of his life and suggested he talk to his nurse who could put him in touch with the resident social worker. When I mentioned this interaction with the nurse manager later, she indicated that the social worker had, in fact, already met with him several times and was working on his and his families' issues.
Working with patients in situations like these reminds me how important it is to convey information to the appropriate hospital staff and to fight the urge to try to help a patient in situations where we as AIRs are ill equipped to address properly. These situations also remind me of my role in the hospital unit and how as an AIR, I can help patients--call it distraction, meditation, reflection, or just plain creativity, there's nothing like engaging in the creative process when the world seems dismal.
No comments:
Post a Comment