How I Made a Difference

Within my clinical this semester, one specific example comes to mind with how I made a difference with a patient. There was one day I helped a patient with their journey to, from and on the toilet. The patient had what seemed to be relentless diarrhea. After assisting the patient rapidly from the dining room to her room, the Occupational Therapist Assistant and I both assisted the patient to her toilet in the knick of time. The patient told me she was so thankful to see me because she had been asking around to go to the bathroom for a long time. At first, when the patient was on the toilet I was very near to her asking if she had eaten anything out of the ordinary, or been feeling off recently, trying to get baseline signs and symptoms. The patient stopped, looked up at me and said I feel like I need to go but I just can’t. I said “would it help if I stepped outside for just a moment to give you some privacy?” When she said yes please I would be so grateful it occurred to me the extent of how important and what a difference it can mean to someone to take a step back sometimes. 

 That moment, walking even a couple steps outside the physical door to ensure a little more privacy was exactly the lesson I needed and what the patient desired. Sometimes a hands off approach is just as effective as a hands on approach. I thought to myself, when does the woman get to use the bathroom by herself anymore? Things we all take for granted all of our lives. I personally would not be able to use the bathroom with an audience, especially while having diarrhea. Stepping away, yet still close enough for safety purposes was how I made a difference in this patient’s life.