I walked home from work today. Well almost. I hopped on a tram between spring and swanston st, just cos my ticket was already validated and I felt like a waste to not use it. I had to walk off the frustration from work, and even then the long walk wasn't enough.
Ugh. My last patient, I was working with a colleague and a student. The patient had slight dementia. So anyways, his wife was there to accompany him. Neither my colleague or the student were directing any of their instructions or questions to the patient - everything was spoken to the patient's wife. Argh. I felt sorry for the patient, he isn't any less capable of listening. You can tell if he doesn't understand and then maybe you turn to the wife. But I honestly feel that any question or instruction should be directed at both of them; spoken to the patient with the wife there listening. When I asked the patient for his date of birth, my colleague says "don't ask him. he's got alzheimer's". Right. The patient still knows his own birthday.
The department is so understaffed. I had to cover lunches and tea breaks today on the machines. Its extra work I shouldn't be doing cos I'm not rostered there, but oh well, its nice treating patients who I have planned. So much for being supernumerary.
Anyways. Walking home seemed like everyone I passed was looking at me. A (gay)-sian guy stopped doing his dishes to watch me walk by his apartment. Other people looked at me as I passed them in the park. Weird.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
hi. yeah i think you are on my msn. as chalks yeah? i'll be sure to chat to you next time i go online.
good luck with the alzheimer's patient.
that would be great ;). how have you been?
there's no need for luck. i've treated patients with mild alzheimer's before and they are really no different to treating any other patient. the stress is placed on the patient's family. They are the ones who have to explain every day to their loved one that he or she has cancer...
Post a Comment