[Dysphagia] re: therapy

[kgoertz at paphr.sk.ca (Clarke-Goertz, Kim (PAPHR))]

I agree, but so often I find in our field that the perseverance comes more
from wanting to help (because that's what we do darn it!) and not as much
from dictating.
The bottom line remains the same, it is the choice of the patient and
sometimes when trying to "help" we lose sight of that.
I had a mentor tell me once to "never be afraid to see the back of a
patient"; it doesn't necessarily mean you failed, it means they chose
otherwise and that is individuality.
Kim




-----Original Message-----
From: smilinggirl336@comcast.net [mailto:smilinggirl336@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2005 13:17
To: dysphagia@b9.com
Subject: [Dysphagia] re: therapy


OK, My high horse here......We cannot force patients to do what we want them
to do, even if we know/believe what we are teaching is right.  Expecting
patients to obey aspiration precautions or diet modifications is like
expecting people to stop smoking or lose weight because it increases their
risk of heart attack or stroke or diabetes.  Our job is to teach them as
best we can - what is wrong, why, best management strategies, and the
possible consequences.  People will choose to comply or not.  

I have associated with SLP's who feel that we then should not treat
aspiration pneumonia when patients do not comply with our instructions.
That would be like saying, "You didn't lose the weight, so I'm not treating
your heart attack!"  We are professionals, not dictators!  We have to
respect everyone's right to choose!  That doesn't make our job any less
important - 
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