Communication barriers.
I worked at COH (City of Hope) last Good Friday. Dealing with non english speaking patient is quite challenging. Basic needs that we take for granted may not be available if stuck in bed and your nurse can't speak the three languages that you do speak. Farsi, Armenian and Turkish.
I envy people who are multilingual but they have to be in the right side of the planet.
The situation was frustrating. The good thing was he wasn't that sick and was recovering well. Eating was a great need and most culture believe that if you don't eat you get sicker. Not eating actually clearthe toxic crap out of your body and make you better. Energy wise, a bed rest patient needs so little energy that liquids alone will suffice for a few days.
My patient started eating his tissues to tell me that he wants to eat. That really upset me and I confiscated his tissue box. I started giving him some liquids as I wait for the meal to arrive. One thing about the new hospital at COH is that the cafeteria is a separate building. Food needs to be wheeled in from that building. I'm glad I'm not doing it as it has been raining a lot out there the past few days.
Smoking 3 and a half packs of smokes a day will cause tumors to grow around the neck. Having a history of neck tumors would make a sensible person quit. Not this patient. 17 years ago, he had a tumor removed on his right neck. Today, he had one removed from the left. My brother is right. People will continue to smoke so lets invest in cigarette companies. The demand is there so the product will continue to sell. It's like any chronic disease, diabetes, hypertension, COPD, and obesity. They can be controlled by diet, exercise and medications. Unfortunately, excess eating and sedentary lifestyle prevails.
I worked at COH (City of Hope) last Good Friday. Dealing with non english speaking patient is quite challenging. Basic needs that we take for granted may not be available if stuck in bed and your nurse can't speak the three languages that you do speak. Farsi, Armenian and Turkish.
I envy people who are multilingual but they have to be in the right side of the planet.
The situation was frustrating. The good thing was he wasn't that sick and was recovering well. Eating was a great need and most culture believe that if you don't eat you get sicker. Not eating actually clearthe toxic crap out of your body and make you better. Energy wise, a bed rest patient needs so little energy that liquids alone will suffice for a few days.
My patient started eating his tissues to tell me that he wants to eat. That really upset me and I confiscated his tissue box. I started giving him some liquids as I wait for the meal to arrive. One thing about the new hospital at COH is that the cafeteria is a separate building. Food needs to be wheeled in from that building. I'm glad I'm not doing it as it has been raining a lot out there the past few days.
Smoking 3 and a half packs of smokes a day will cause tumors to grow around the neck. Having a history of neck tumors would make a sensible person quit. Not this patient. 17 years ago, he had a tumor removed on his right neck. Today, he had one removed from the left. My brother is right. People will continue to smoke so lets invest in cigarette companies. The demand is there so the product will continue to sell. It's like any chronic disease, diabetes, hypertension, COPD, and obesity. They can be controlled by diet, exercise and medications. Unfortunately, excess eating and sedentary lifestyle prevails.
