When the Bird and the Book Disagree...
Sue Bergeson
Thursday, July 31, 2008
"When the bird and the book disagree, always believe the bird."--James Audubon (1785-1851)
I was on a phone meeting the other day (I know you're shocked to hear this—it seems to be all I do!) and found myself being confronted by a well-meaning health care professional trying to teach m...
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008
tabby
Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 07:07 PM
I am not a client, I am not a consumer, I do not have a mental health condition nor do I have a behavorial health problem. I am a patient with a mental illness that stems from a medical condition and I am treated by a Medical Doctor who had an extra year or so in College, much like Cardiology or Oncology. Also, my behavior doesn't need a health checkup.
I go to a therapist to learn coping skills, to vent, and to get feedback on ways to decompress and re-assess that which causes my illness to flare. This would be very much like biofeedback for neurological disorders, pain management, and other medical conditions. This would be like cardiac rehab for cardiac issues. This would be like taking a nutritional wellness class for Diabetes treatment.
I am a patient with a medical condition that causes my emotional and mental side of my brain to go askew much like my seizure disorder causes my neurological system to go askew from time to time. I wouldn't call myself a consumer of Neurology for my Seizure Disorder.
As far as what to call the "professional staff" - I call them what they are: Doctor, Pharmacist, Nurse, Therapist, Counselor, Social Worker. To call them anything else is to make them more than they are and to fluff up what they do. They aren't healthcare professionals or providers of care. I provide care to myself everyday, I'm typing therefore I'm breathing, therefore I'm caring for myself reasonably well and they (at least not all of them) are not truly professionals at healthcare or we'd really not need so many of them.
That's just my take on the politically correct version of trying to lump everyone into a friendly label.
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AlexNagy
Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 06:48 PM
I agree, tabby, for the most part. I'm not a client or a consumer, nor a patient. I'm an active participant, a partner, in my own health care. I learn about my disorder, I tell my doctor my symptoms using the most precise language I can so as to get the best treatment possible.
Words do matter, and I wish they'd let us - more often then not - decide on how we are described, how we are treated, and what treatments we recieve.
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John McManamy
Friday, August 01, 2008 at 07:15 PM
In my experience, I've found that people who love to argue endlessly over words aren't interested in accomplishing anything. As for as I am concerned, you can call me anything you like 'cept late for dinner.
Like you, I'm far more interested in taking back "our world." I'm sure you're sick to death by now of being the "token consumer" on endless committees and boards and meetings and phone calls. "Their" agendas. "Their" priorities. "Their" world. They really don't want to hear from us.
Until the conversation is about "our" agenda and "our" priorities, for me personally, I'm just wasting my breath with these people. We'll know when we've taken back our world when we're setting the agenda, with "token healthcare provider" involvement.
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Eric
Saturday, August 02, 2008 at 04:35 AM
When I see this type of bickering going on over the use of words to describe anything…I see people with too much time on their hands trying to prove they are actually doing something. Tabby is correct….I too am a patient and I see a doctor for my condition as needed. I really don’t see myself as a consumer and only respond to that term when I visit our local grocery store to shop. The use of the word client only comes to mind if I happen to be in need of a lawyer for anything….I become their client.
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Karen
Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 12:29 AM
Words do matter....they matter a great deal. If someone insults you, you remember. If someone is kind to you, you remember. When you receive a card, you remember the words on it.
Consumer.....Provider.......Patient.........Doctor? Think about the words, people. To me, the word patient describes someone who should be "patient" and wait for the "all-knowing doctor to dispense treatment". That is so ridiculous. We live in a world where information is available. Treatment is available. We just need to do the work. Yes, some days, some weeks are easier than others. Well, guess what? It's like that for everyone, everywhere. We have a mood disorder; but, we also have choices. Do we choose to do the work and help ourselves or do we just sit back and wait for someone to decide what we need? I think not.
Yes, I am a consumer. I am a consumer of mental health services from a provider of my choosing. And, I love the fact that I have the freedom to make the choice. Sue, you are right on the mark!
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Carolyn
Saturday, August 09, 2008 at 08:44 PM
I am not sure why, but I feel the "ickies" of Political Correctness, when I hear the term consumer.
I also prefer "patient" defined as:
"One who receives medical attention, care, or treatment."
as opposed to consumer:
"One that consumes, especially one that acquires goods or services for direct use or ownership rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing"
For me, the first is more fitting.
I also prefer the term Doctor as that is the title they have earned by virtue of their educational degee.
I refer to my therapist as such when talking to others, but I am fortunate enough in our relationship to be able to call him by his given name, at his request.
To take this a step further: I am a patient who has a medical condition called Bipolar Disorder (I am teaching myself not to say "I am Bipolar") and I see a Doctor and a Therapist for my treatment.
I am happy with that.
But that's just me.
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Narelle
Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 09:01 AM
And I for one have turned into a consumer after neing a patient for a long time. I pay my doctors, I deserve the very best treatment, and if they don't give it to me I have the right to tell them and seek other opinions. I have been misdiagnosed for a neurological vocal cord disorder - for 6 years they called it psychological and packed my off to psychiatrists and speech pathologists - I was very young and once I started to grow up a bit and I knew it was not "in my head" I changed Doctors and finally got a correct diagnosis. The treatment of choice (still is) was botox injections into the vocal cords to cause paralysis so they didn't bang together willy-nilly. That barely worked for me, so I researched another procedure being done in Japan, got the vidoe, talked my ENT into doing it, was his guinea pig and he had to do it 4 times, but eventually we got it right. Emphasis on the "we". It was a team effort. But whoa did it take a long timef or this croaky bird to get "heard". So I am a proud consumer, mental health or any other issue - and I research my health just liek i'd research buying a new TV - alot of time and effort to get the very best. We are up against it with the medical profession in so many fields - it's time to let them know that we are paying cutomers not passive recipients of thier wordly wisdom (and many of them don't know our illnesses half as much as we do - we are the experts on ourselves). Doctors who can't see that are not worth seeing. Still i'm not into semantics and consumer, patient, whatever, just treat me right, that's not too much to ask (or pay for).
N
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