Re: move on? What is at stake??
george boyer
Description
Collection
Title:
Re: move on? What is at stake??
Creator:
george boyer
Date:
5/10/1999
Text:
What is this unmistakable discomfort which so many of you seem to have about
this subject?? You want not just to 'move on'....you seem intent on resolutely
MARCHING on, if not running. I exaggerate. But hold on here....this seems like
a small thing but, my friends, it is not trivial. The language we use
permeates and truly underlies our dealings with people in whatever we do.
I personally feel that this 'patient' designation is very problematic. The aim
of someone after, say, an amputation is to return to full competence. Not to be
trapped in a situation where 'being cared for' as a 'patient' periodically
compromises that which for many, many folks is far from a truly consolidated
personal verity, their personal stability. An amputation truly overwhelms one
with all the care of the medical world and can provide the opportunity for
sliding into a passivity and patienthood which conflict with one's progress back
to normality. So it behooves us to be extremely careful to avoid contributing
to such situations. Certainly all professionals must be courteous, helpful and
sensitive....but for prosthetists to do this under the aegis of patient care
is not helpful. Take note that the prosthetist's relationship to the amputee
will extend over the remaining lifetime of the person. Look, an amputation is by
and large a pain in the a$$, not the end of the world. Ask almost any amputee
of more than a fairly short period of time.
Let's not run....let's kick it around a bit more. What say?
BTW, what were amputees called before 1910 when the term first came into use,
according to Webster's Collegiate 10th Ed.?
Cheers, George Boyer.
<Email Address Redacted> wrote:
> Finally common ground......nicely put John
>
> Would the moderator kindly repeat John's message several times, so that we
> can move on and use this forum for other topics? Thank you Kim for your
> insight and enlightenment for our sensitivity. Please visit us again. For the
> sake of other issues and not ignorance...may we move on.
> Respectfully Submitted
this subject?? You want not just to 'move on'....you seem intent on resolutely
MARCHING on, if not running. I exaggerate. But hold on here....this seems like
a small thing but, my friends, it is not trivial. The language we use
permeates and truly underlies our dealings with people in whatever we do.
I personally feel that this 'patient' designation is very problematic. The aim
of someone after, say, an amputation is to return to full competence. Not to be
trapped in a situation where 'being cared for' as a 'patient' periodically
compromises that which for many, many folks is far from a truly consolidated
personal verity, their personal stability. An amputation truly overwhelms one
with all the care of the medical world and can provide the opportunity for
sliding into a passivity and patienthood which conflict with one's progress back
to normality. So it behooves us to be extremely careful to avoid contributing
to such situations. Certainly all professionals must be courteous, helpful and
sensitive....but for prosthetists to do this under the aegis of patient care
is not helpful. Take note that the prosthetist's relationship to the amputee
will extend over the remaining lifetime of the person. Look, an amputation is by
and large a pain in the a$$, not the end of the world. Ask almost any amputee
of more than a fairly short period of time.
Let's not run....let's kick it around a bit more. What say?
BTW, what were amputees called before 1910 when the term first came into use,
according to Webster's Collegiate 10th Ed.?
Cheers, George Boyer.
<Email Address Redacted> wrote:
> Finally common ground......nicely put John
>
> Would the moderator kindly repeat John's message several times, so that we
> can move on and use this forum for other topics? Thank you Kim for your
> insight and enlightenment for our sensitivity. Please visit us again. For the
> sake of other issues and not ignorance...may we move on.
> Respectfully Submitted
Citation
george boyer, “Re: move on? What is at stake??,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 17, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/211808.
