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CUTTING REMARKS
LAUGHTER, THE BEST MEDICINE
"If You Think That's My Elbow …"
A
n excerpt from "What's So Funny About… OR Nursing?" a new
book by Karyn Buxman, RN, MSN, CSP, CPAE (www.karynbuxman.com):
Our patient satisfaction surveys had revealed that while our standard of
care was excellent, patients felt the whole process was very mechanical
and impersonal. They wanted more direct interaction with the physician.
Specifically, they wanted the doctors to touch them. It didn't matter if the
doctor could see everything that was wrong with them on an X-ray;
there was something about the physical contact that made them feel
better and better cared for.
We stressed this to one of our best orthopedic surgeons. He listened,
and said that he'd try to do better. He's not a touchy-feely guy, but he'd
do his best. In comes the next patient, a little
old lady a bit on the plump side who
needed surgery on her elbow. The surgeon reaches under the blanket and
palpitates the complaint area. The
woman looks him straight in the eye and
says, "Honey, I'm not going to stop
you, but if you think that's my elbow,
you're sadly mistaken!"
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | N O V E M B E R 2012
