Personal Perspectives: Having a Prostatectomy and the Role of the Cancer Specialist Nurse
| Autor: | Simon D. Taylor-Robinson, Kathy Dykes, Bethan Hawkes |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
business.industry
Prostatectomy Personal perspectives medicine.medical_treatment Perspective (graphical) Specialist nurse Cancer General Medicine 030204 cardiovascular system & hematology Surgical procedures medicine.disease 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Nursing 030220 oncology & carcinogenesis Medical profession Medicine Personal experience business |
| Zdroj: | International Journal of General Medicine. 13:897-901 |
| ISSN: | 1178-7074 |
| DOI: | 10.2147/ijgm.s267559 |
| Popis: | Background Doctors are often ill-prepared to become patients, despite knowing the technicalities of surgical procedures and the day-to-day workings of hospital life intimately. Surrendering the decision-making process to other healthcare professionals can be an unnerving process for many of those who are medically qualified. Aim Although the sequelae of prostatectomy have often been written about, little is in the literature from medically qualified patients about their personal experiences of the procedure. We aimed to highlight areas where communication between medically qualified patients and their carers may be strengthened. Methods and results We present a personal perspective of the emotional issues surrounding a potential cancer diagnosis, the experience of having a prostatectomy and what the hospital encounters were like in reality with a viewpoint of informing the medical profession in providing better patient information when they ask "what will it be like?". From this perspective, the critical role of the cancer specialist nurse is highlighted as the lynch pin in providing a continuing source of information to medically qualified patients and in not treating them as omniscient, simply because of a medical degree. Conclusion Prostatectomy is a common procedure, but often questions about recovery after the procedure including impotence and incontinence are left unanswered in dealing with medically qualified colleagues when they are patients. Human behaviour is predictable, and medically qualified patients are just as apt to forget what is said to them as anyone else. However, the central role of the cancer specialist nurse as the bridge between the medical team and the patient should not be underestimated. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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