Why the thickened liquid challenge is important

Empathy via participation is a technique that probably deserves wider attention in health professions education. Drs Eric Widera and Alex Smith and the team at UCSF have come up with the ingenious Thickened Liquids Challenge. Thickened liquids can be a treatment that is overly used and poorly understood for any person who has swallowing difficulties. Most clinicians will be familiar with the terms ‘nectar-thickened’ and ‘honey-thickened’ from any experience in geriatrics or neurology. So taking the popularity of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and mashing it up with a likely non-harmful* experiential opportunity for the clinician to “take their own medicine,” we have the Thickened Liquids Challenge. The rules are thus:12 Hour Challenge: All fluids must be thickened to “honey consistency” using a beverage thickener for a 12 hour contiguous period. Food does not have to be thickened.Mini-challenge: drink an 8 ounce drink thickened to honey consistency (coffee, wine, juice, water, or any drink of your choice)Videotape yourself and include an announcement that you accept the challengeIf you fail the challenge you must donate $20 to a geriatrics or palliative care charity of your choice (see notes below for some suggestions)At the end of your challenge, nominate a minimum of three other people/teams to participate in the challengeWhen posting the challenge online, please use the hashtag #thickenedliquidchallenge@ctsinclair Do you accept the challenge? #thickenedliqui...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - Category: Palliative Carer Workers Tags: geriatrics speech Source Type: blogs