On my orthopaedic inpatient placement I assisted in a daily 1 hour hydrotherapy session for lower limb outpatients. The session did not follow a group exercise format; rather each patient went through their individual exercise program independently. The class was fairly laid back and many of the participants treated it as much a social outing as an exercise/rehab class. One patient in particular, Jim*, loved having a chat and cracking jokes. Jim* had a great sense of humour, however some of his jokes were often rude and of a sexual nature, all within earshot of elderly ladies!
Jims’ jokes were funny, but they were also inappropriate in this setting. The first time it happened I was shocked and felt slightly embarrassed due to the presence of the elderly ladies. While I did not laugh to encourage him, I also said nothing. Following the class that day I mentioned to my supervisor that Jim was being inappropriate. Apparently this was commonplace with this patient and my supervisor had previously told him to tone it down.
Having had several conversations with Jim in the pool, I knew that he was a kind hearted man who meant no harm; he just didn’t have any discretion. Next time he said something inappropriate, rather than me telling him off, I pointed out to him that most of these women were the same age as my grandmother, and I wouldn’t want my grandmother hearing such things! He reacted positively to this and was well behaved for the rest of the session.
If confronted with the same situation in the future, whether the patient were harmless or not, I would feel confident to let that patient know that their comments were inappropriate. As physiotherapists we have a duty of care to ensure all of our patients are safe and comfortable, and therefore must nip such situations in the bud.
*Fictitious name
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1 comment:
some patients just behave inappropriately, but sometimes they don't really mean it. what we can do either ignore it or react it, but don't take it personally and we need to let them know their behaviour is inappropriate otherwise they will just keep pushing to your baseline and worsen the problem. yea i agress with you and you did well =)
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