Everyone needs a “Go” bag to grab when a medical problem ends up requiring hospitalization. Along with mundane items like a toothbrush, hairbrush, robe, and magazine, consider adding a folding chair.
In an article by Sanah Ladhani, MD. “The Stethoscope and the Chair: Optimizing Hospital Room Design to Enhance the Patient-Physician Relationship in Inpatient Oncology” (September 2024; Journal of Clinical Oncology), she described her struggle as an oncologist visiting patients in the hospital: “The design of the hospital room has become my foe by standing as a roadblock to engaging with the patient in the most humanistic way possible.”
Ladnani contends that “sitting in a chair, at eye level, close to the patient, can improve both the quality and quantity of our care.” Studies document that assertion. Studies also document that when chairs are easily available, clinicians are more likely to sit down during a visit.
The lack of chairs in hospital rooms is one more example of institutions hampering compassionate care. A low-tech relatively inexpensive way for hospitals to improve patient care is to hang a folding chair (or two) on a wall of every hospital room. Until that happens, if a loved one is going to be in the hosptial for more than a day, consider bringing a folding chair that you can easily open and place by the bedside when the doctor shows up for a visit.
Healthy Survivors take steps to facilitate healing bonds.
P.S. To find an image for this post, I inputted in a search bar, “clip-art doctor sitting by a patient’s bed.” What did I get? Images of doctors and nurses STANDING by a patient’s bed. That says something. Meanwhile, I used an old classic painting.
P.P.S. Thank you, Dr. Ladhani, for caring and sharing your experience.
THE DOCTOR (Fildes)
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