On not being an arse

Humans are judgemental beings. All of us are. It’s part of having a big brain and wanting to know who’s ‘in’ and who’s ‘out’. Judgements help us make decisions, they’re surprisingly resistant to change, and they can inadvertently trap us into doing things we would never countenance were we able to stand back from what our minds want us to know (and feel). My post today is prompted by a couple of conversations recently. One was with a clinician, new to a pain team, who found that experienced members of that team thought actions taken by a person with pain were a sign of ‘catastrophising’ and ‘failing to accept’ and worse – ‘not engaging in the programme.’ He’d thought the very same actions were an indication of someone trying very hard to improve their situation, of being motivated to learn and experiment, of being a self-advocate. The other conversation was with someone who had not been referred for investigations for a new pain she had developed, on the basis that ‘hurt doesn’t equal harm’ and because she already had a chronic pain problem. She went through many years of distress and disability because her new pain was not investigated – but once it was, she got a diagnosis and the treatment that reduced that pain and relieved her distress. Sadly the psychological distress of not having her concerns addressed lives on. How can we get it so wrong? H...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Tags: Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Coping strategies Interdisciplinary teams Occupational therapy Physiotherapy Professional topics Psychology Research Science in practice healthcare pain management Source Type: blogs