The medical jargon just doesn't make sense to people who are rushed into a hospital then get an emotional experience and on top need to digest all the medical speak they never had to deal with. This makes it impossible for elderly people to make decisions
First they are happy to open their eyes an be alive.
the next second a specialist overwhelms them with words they never knew existed.
then the next person waters it down into layman's terms that cause even more confusion. My dad would say, why speak Latin to me? i'm in a Dutch hospital, right?
And right after that the family rolls in with all kinds of questions. Add bad hearing, and people who just don't really listen. And an already exhaused patient is confused to the max by all the chatter. Happy to be alive, and happy to have the people around. But unaware that the information is getting lost on the spot.
Then the next day all that confusion is in the mind. And then the specialists come back to 'make a decision' And as the patient is lost for words the specialist just do what is common. And all is done and dusted.
Not really anyone's fault. But if the first explanation had been in 'normal' language that the patient had been able to comprehend then things would have been a lot less difficult for the patient.
It's stuff like that that seems to go under the radar. As all people do this. If a car mechanic explains how to fix car he basically does the same. :-)
No hard feelings to anyone,i'm grateful that there are so many people who really go trough great lengths to save other peoples lives. It's often very underestimated.
If you ask me to translate what i know in my language, i will struggle. In combination of english and filipino yes.
Because the learning and research are all in English...even in english-speaking countries, your best bet are nurses.
But i can see what you mean, though i am proud where i work in such a way that we advocate for our patients and tell-off doctors sometimes.
I think time is of the essence sometimes.
It's just a shame that most people are not able to make educated chioces simply because they are not familiar with the jargon. Must be worse with a language that doesn't come even close to English.
And yes time. That's the pressure on all of it.
Time is muscle☺
Heart muscle death for every second that its' treatment is delayed, for one reason or another.
Understanding procedures/treatment is the essence of giving patients a choice that modern medicine needs to keep in mind. Ideally.
:-) that's indeed an interesting view on time and delay.
So we should have an easy way to navigate the options so that a patient can make step by step choices
I have seen where a patient with ongoing heart attack was so scared plus his ongoing symptoms couldn't possibly think on what's best for him let alone understand everything of what's being said. Even if he wants to, all he could think of is to have relief.
Perhaps if people are educated or be aware on what to expect when such problems occur. Which they can do research when well...but will they do this if healthy?
Hmm indeed, in a situation like that the dynamics change.
So it differs in each scenario, team and kind of patients.