Advice to Medical Students - your thoughts
Hi all, as a BCNA Community Liaison I have the opportunity to speak to a group of 2nd Year Medical Students at the University of Sydney next week as part of their Oncology Unit. The talk will focus o...
Forum Discussion
Just my experience because I have to know everything!
Helpful -
info sheets on side effects, and if possible ways to deal with them.
copies of all tests done, so I can give them to my GP and refer to them myself
A patient filter on your thoughts when talking to the patient. Mentioning stage 4 cancer when discussing a CT scan for lung nodules to a patient in hospital on IV antibiotics during chemo when they have been diagnosed with stage 2B is not helpful.
*****Remember patients hang on every word you say!********
Information on what will happen with chemo therapy, procedure, a info sheet could be handed out.
Discussion on drugs used, reasons why, possible long term side effects.
My Oncologist gave me a choice of 3 regimes, using different drugs and we decided on one based on family history of heart disease, my age and health, and desirable length of time of treatment. I felt involved, understood as much as possible the reasons for choosing the drugs and had my family health history considered.
Assessment as to whether a portacath is possible/desirable before starting treatment.
Discussion of costs of everything, don't have to be asked.
Information on support groups in the area. Check that the patient has that information, don't assume that they will get it at another specialist or treatment centre.
It can just be one question, a referral to the information wall in the rooms or a handout sheet with contact details for support groups relevant to the patient. People fall through the cracks in the information network.
Not helpful-
recommending treatments without any discussion of costs, even if there are none, don't assume the patient knows this, it can be a great cause of stress not knowing if you are going to have a big bill.
Assuming the patient knows anything!
Just because things are standard practise to someone in the field, the new patient knows nothing in a lot of cases. And even if they do, telling them the basics again doesn't hurt.
But don't tell a patient that a certain pattern will be followed by another specialist unless you know for certain that it will.
I was told that I would have a certain pattern of chemo by my surgeon, and when the Oncologist told me I would be having another pattern I stressed that it wasn't what I was told would happen.
There was so much being discussed at that Oncologist appointment that I didn't get to question that.
Telling a patient that things will happen a certain way and then they don't. Be up to speed on current procedures for everything you are recommending, scans, blood tests, chemo preceedures, hospital admission, in an unfamiliar situation, if things are not done the way that you have been told they should or will be done, it can be very stressful not knowing if the proceedures are being followed the right way.
I question now, but didn't in the first instance and some people will be too sick or too nervous to ask.
Just a few things I can think of at the moment.
Helpful -
info sheets on side effects, and if possible ways to deal with them.
copies of all tests done, so I can give them to my GP and refer to them myself
A patient filter on your thoughts when talking to the patient. Mentioning stage 4 cancer when discussing a CT scan for lung nodules to a patient in hospital on IV antibiotics during chemo when they have been diagnosed with stage 2B is not helpful.
*****Remember patients hang on every word you say!********
Information on what will happen with chemo therapy, procedure, a info sheet could be handed out.
Discussion on drugs used, reasons why, possible long term side effects.
My Oncologist gave me a choice of 3 regimes, using different drugs and we decided on one based on family history of heart disease, my age and health, and desirable length of time of treatment. I felt involved, understood as much as possible the reasons for choosing the drugs and had my family health history considered.
Assessment as to whether a portacath is possible/desirable before starting treatment.
Discussion of costs of everything, don't have to be asked.
Information on support groups in the area. Check that the patient has that information, don't assume that they will get it at another specialist or treatment centre.
It can just be one question, a referral to the information wall in the rooms or a handout sheet with contact details for support groups relevant to the patient. People fall through the cracks in the information network.
Not helpful-
recommending treatments without any discussion of costs, even if there are none, don't assume the patient knows this, it can be a great cause of stress not knowing if you are going to have a big bill.
Assuming the patient knows anything!
Just because things are standard practise to someone in the field, the new patient knows nothing in a lot of cases. And even if they do, telling them the basics again doesn't hurt.
But don't tell a patient that a certain pattern will be followed by another specialist unless you know for certain that it will.
I was told that I would have a certain pattern of chemo by my surgeon, and when the Oncologist told me I would be having another pattern I stressed that it wasn't what I was told would happen.
There was so much being discussed at that Oncologist appointment that I didn't get to question that.
Telling a patient that things will happen a certain way and then they don't. Be up to speed on current procedures for everything you are recommending, scans, blood tests, chemo preceedures, hospital admission, in an unfamiliar situation, if things are not done the way that you have been told they should or will be done, it can be very stressful not knowing if the proceedures are being followed the right way.
I question now, but didn't in the first instance and some people will be too sick or too nervous to ask.
Just a few things I can think of at the moment.