client v patient
Marcus Boren Resident
Description
Collection
Title:
client v patient
Creator:
Marcus Boren Resident
Date:
10/14/2000
Text:
As an amputee prosthetist, I can see both sides of this issue, and
really don't see what all the fuss is about.
Of course our customers/clients/patients have a choice in who
provides their care. This applies to physicians, PTs, nursing homes,
hospitals, CPs, COs, and occasionally even Sears.
I have always considered myself to be a patient of the physician, and
ANY person who works under their orders. This includes nurses, PTs,
etc., and you are always free to tell them that you want someone else.
Of course the prosthetics profession sells devices, but it is also
our duty to evaluate physical condition, make recomendations, and educate
the patient, et al., in what to do with it.
If anybody has bothered to look up the original meaning of the word
'doctor', they will find that it means 'teacher'.
Therefore, for anyone who knows all the answers, and simply wants to
buy a leg, I think I saw one in a REALLY OLD Sears catalog. Nice people
there too, they never have to deal with insurance companies, edema,
neuromas, urine, senility, daily visits to your future nursing home,
medicare, schedules, bad debt, weekend hospital calls, or 7-9 years of
formal education to do their jobs. They will even let you put it on your
card for a modest 21% rate.
Prosthetists cannot afford to treat people with the cold efficiency of a
mechanic or department store. If you feel like a client, you need to find
someone who cares enough to treat you like a patient. This is true for the
patients of all medical professions.
Marcus Boren
Prosthetic Resident
really don't see what all the fuss is about.
Of course our customers/clients/patients have a choice in who
provides their care. This applies to physicians, PTs, nursing homes,
hospitals, CPs, COs, and occasionally even Sears.
I have always considered myself to be a patient of the physician, and
ANY person who works under their orders. This includes nurses, PTs,
etc., and you are always free to tell them that you want someone else.
Of course the prosthetics profession sells devices, but it is also
our duty to evaluate physical condition, make recomendations, and educate
the patient, et al., in what to do with it.
If anybody has bothered to look up the original meaning of the word
'doctor', they will find that it means 'teacher'.
Therefore, for anyone who knows all the answers, and simply wants to
buy a leg, I think I saw one in a REALLY OLD Sears catalog. Nice people
there too, they never have to deal with insurance companies, edema,
neuromas, urine, senility, daily visits to your future nursing home,
medicare, schedules, bad debt, weekend hospital calls, or 7-9 years of
formal education to do their jobs. They will even let you put it on your
card for a modest 21% rate.
Prosthetists cannot afford to treat people with the cold efficiency of a
mechanic or department store. If you feel like a client, you need to find
someone who cares enough to treat you like a patient. This is true for the
patients of all medical professions.
Marcus Boren
Prosthetic Resident
Citation
Marcus Boren Resident, “client v patient,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 4, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/215103.
