Lucas Green
In Part One of this four part series, we explored what is meant by the relationship between a patient’s family and their health care. In Part Two we will explore what constitutes family care and how it differs from that provided by the health care system. In Part Three we will consider the nature and role of the patient’s family in the process of providing their own medical care. Finally, in Part Four we will discuss whether or not the relationship between the family and the health care system is an appropriate one. This article covers the fourth topic briefly.
To answer the question: “which principle pertaining to the relationship of family to patient education is most accurate?” we must take into consideration both the patient and his or her family. The family, after all, is usually where the patient began to learn about his or her responsibility to society and to others. Therefore, a good part of the patient’s education will come from his or her family. In addition, this is where the patient begins to develop a sense of self-worth and an awareness of his or her place in the world.
Unfortunately, however, many family members: Do not understand the need for such education. Many simply do not see the family as part of the medical community. Family members can become unhinged when they are unable to agree on key issues such as whether or not a patient should be given pain medication during a procedure or if he or she should receive follow-up care after a procedure has been performed. Sometimes these disagreements are simply an extension of common everyday life. Yet such misunderstandings undermine the primary objective of patient care and the principles underlying it: that healthy patients should receive consistent, superior quality health care, beginning with adequate family care and continuing through discharge.
When a doctor sees a family member: Who seems ill prepared to provide such care, he or she should ask whether the family is in fact part of the health care team. Often, it will be obvious that the answer is “no.” Then the doctor must make the difficult choice of whether to stick his or her neck into a health care system that does not support the family, or whether to trust that the patient will get the needed care.
Perhaps the most important question, then, is this: What is the proper standard? Should doctors stick their necks into unknown waters in order to save a patient’s life? If so, then the most appropriate standard would be “yes.” If doctors are forced to make these difficult decisions, they will inevitably end up harming their patients in one way or another. That is something no one should wish to happen.
Despite the fact that many family members: May not understand the proper standards for family health care, the importance of it can never be denied. When the patient is suffering, the last thing he or she wants is to go untreated. The best thing for any family to do is to ensure that their loved one receives the adequate health care he or she requires, and that the patient is treated with dignity and respect.
