I need a reflective journal on incidents. Rude and tough doctor giving bad news to a patient who\’s diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer ((Late Diagnosed and metastatic )) and the nurse is the interpreter between the doctor and the nurse (( patient – non-english speaker )) + (( Doctor non-Arabic speaker ))
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
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Description
Many incidents occur during healthcare practice and it is important to analyze them, make sense of the situation, and develop an action plan based on the lessons learned (Artioli et al., 2021). Recently, during clinical practice, I encountered a doctor who was delivering bad news to a client who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The diagnosis had been made at a later stage since the cancer was already metastatic. The patient was a non-English speaker and the doctor was a non-Arabic speaker hence the nurse was acting as the interpreter. However, the doctor was rude and tough as he gave the news and it was difficult for the nurse to convey the information to the patient.
Feelings
My reaction to the incident was that the doctor did not need to be rude when giving bad news, especially to a possibly terminally-ill patient. I also felt that the doctor was being unfair to the nurse who was expected to translate exactly what he said.
Evaluation
The entire experience was bad because the patient was receiving bad news about his health and the doctor did not demonstrate any compassion for his situation. Additionally, the nurse experienced a difficult time attempting to translate the doctor’s rude words in a manner that would demonstrate more compassion to the patient.
Analysis
The situation demonstrated that there are situations when healthcare professionals fail to remain compassionate and show empathy for their patients, and this can be potentially harmful to the patient. According to Baguley et al. (2020), healthcare professionals are expected to demonstrate compassion by recognizing suffering, being empathetic to patients, and being motivated to act in a manner that helps alleviate suffering. Moudatsou et al. (2020) add that compassion is also associated with reduced anxiety, meaningful relationships between patients and healthcare professionals, and better satisfaction with care. Sweileh (2020) further explains that in some cases, healthcare professionals may demonstrate a lack of compassion due to compassion fatigue attributed to high workloads, repeated exposure to trauma, and stress at home.
I feel that this incident is not isolated since there are many other situations where healthcare professionals do not demonstrate compassion. The main themes emerging from analyzing the incident include that compassion and empathy are professional obligations and that they have a significant impact on patient outcomes. Lack of compassion leads to increased patient anxiety, low satisfaction rates, and poor patient outcomes. Compassion fatigue is also a significant factor that may prevent doctors and nurses from showing compassion.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the incident was an example of a lack of compassion from a physician that negatively impacted both the nurse who was interpreting the words and the patient who was receiving bad news. Such incidents demonstrate that some healthcare professionals lack understanding of patient suffering which may be caused by other issues such as professional burnout.
Action Plan
The next time I encounter a similar situation, I will advise the nurse to translate the doctor’s words more gently while still delivering the intended message. I would also advise the nurse to report the issue for further investigation if the doctor continues to be rude to the patient.
References
Artioli, G., Deiana, L., De Vincenzo, F., Raucci, M., Amaducci, G., Bassi, M., Di Leo, S., Hayter, M. and Ghirotto, L., 2021. Health professionals and students’ experiences of reflective writing in learning: A qualitative meta-synthesis. BMC Medical Education, 21(1).
Baguley, S., Dev, V., Fernando, A. and Consedine, N., 2020. How Do Health Professionals Maintain Compassion Over Time? Insights from a Study of Compassion in Health. Frontiers in Psychology, 11.
Moudatsou, M., Stavropoulou, A., Philalithis, A. and Koukouli, S., 2020. The Role of Empathy in Health and Social Care Professionals. Healthcare, 8(1), p.26.
Sweileh, W., 2020. Research trends and scientific analysis of publications on burnout and compassion fatigue among healthcare providers. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, 15(1).