Sunday, March 05, 2006

the patient's needs

lately, our instructors have really been pounding in the importance of the "patient's needs". They tell us that the patient's needs must come before your own prejustices or judgements, before the hospitals budget, before the nurses requests (sorry nurses!) and even before the physician's convenience.

one example of a patient's need is relative comfort. it's important not to inflict any unnecessary pain on a patient. our instructor gave us an example of a tech he used to work with who always got really great images, but usually at the expense of the patient's comfort. he would force them into positions that, because of their injury or medical condition, were often very painful just so he could get the best possible image for the radiologist. when they would protest, his sensitive side would come out (note the sarcasm here) and he would respond to them by saying "why're you yelling at me, you did it to yourself!". what a sensitive and conscientious healthcare worker, dont you think? jeeze!

note to self: don't blame the patients for their injuries. it's just bad form.

so one of my new career goals is to be a better tech than the guy from my instructor's story. i have a feeling that i will have no trouble accomplishing this particular goal. :-)

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