Another video of serious physical altercation between a health-care provider and a client has surfaced online. If you are a healthcare provider: nurse, doctor, lab personnel etc. understand that such violent encounter could only get worst going forward unless something drastic and fundamental is brought into the open, discussed and corrected within the healthcare system as a whole and among the general public.
Until then, this has always been my position as a healthcare provider myself; you must protect yourself by all means at work. If you die now; God forbid, your facility would never close down. Everything will go on smoothly like nothing happened.
In protecting yourself, I do not mean physical protection with cutlass and stones. Oh no. I mean Tactfully protect yourself from the effect of emotional trauma of patients and relatives as a result of their medical issues.
One of the lowest points in a man's life is to be hit down with sickness. In such low state, a traumatic, irrational emotional state is created in relatives even more than the sick loved one lying down. Some people may have the tendency of losing control to become very violent with the slightest misunderstanding.
As a healthcare provider, you are not only nursing or treating physical illness of the patient, you must handle the emotional and psychological difficulties of both patients and their loved ones especially; secondary to the physical illness.
Afterall, this is how WHO defines Health:
"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
So, understand that you have a duty to care for the emotional and psychological needs of both patients and relatives. Do that with a lot empathy. Limit direct confrontation. Speak to them with grace and respect. Some patients and relatives are very rude and confrontational; identify them and be more tactful. If possible, avoid engaging him or her unless it's very necessary.
The usual Ghanaian mindset that says "This is our work place too, either you humble yourself or we show you who is boss here" should never be entertained by healthcare providers.
You may be putting your own life at risk. I have seen a pained patient relative walk into hospital unit with gun tucked into his waistband. He was furious over the demise of a relative. I saw it and prompted the doctor on duty not to talk and he left the scene.
As much as possible avoid direct confrontation with patients and relatives. If you don’t, someone may just seriously wound you; even fatally for nothing.
My Personal Agonizing Experience
I happened to experience firsthand what it means to have a loved one battling ill health on hospital bed.
He was my childhood best friend I never saw again after high school. interestingly, I went to Accra and took his contact from another mate. I reported to work the next day only to hear my very good friend and brother call my name. He was on oxygen and could hardly breathe in the same unit I work.
Immediately, I was thrown off balance. Unfortunately, he died under my care within 2 days. It was one of the most traumatic experiences I never wish to remember.
Three days before the incident, I very well had a full presentation on the same health condition he suffered. I believe due to the emotional trauma of meeting him in that stage, I began to ask the doctor questions on his condition and recovery as though I didn't know it.
It was not because I forgot it, at that time, I just needed someone to reassure me as I was utterly confused by his bad state of health.
In the final analysis, I often say, it's not easy to be sick and so as healthcare providers, we need to take it easy with our patients and their loved ones.
To the General Public
Nurses especially have well defined job descriptions. Many of the things you fight the nurses over in our health facilities are not really within their scope of work. And so, the nurse is often wrongfully blamed and attacked. this is part of the issues I mentioned in my opening paragraph that needed to be addressed in order to limit the violent encounter being witnessed in recent times.
To learn more on these issues, kindly get copy of my book titled “Bernajis Health and Social Diary.
The writer is Bernard Agbonoshie; a registered nurse, author and public speaker.
Apt!
Well done man. A Golden piece of opinion to Read. It’s just well related