Now, Class . . .
Posted By Sika on May 8, 2009
Today I had the students role play teaching their patients about atelectasis*
More than one of them said, this is a disease which will lead to death if you don’t do what I say, or something to that effect.
I told them to use plain English: so, I got, “Atelectasis is a disease which can lead to loss of air in the alveoli and eventually a collapsed lung. Then there’s surfactant and possibly pulmonary embolism.”
To which the student playing the patient says, “Am I going to live?!?”
To which the nurse (more than once!) says, “We will do our best.”
And I am busting up laughing and trying so hard not to.
Although the part that had me going the most is when Tiyeni was demonstrating deep breathing to Stanley. He stares directly at her chest and says, “could you show me again?”
I thought I should say something about sexual harassment, and then I thought, but that is what the male patients probably do. And then I was confused and the moment to say anything passed.
*It’s a condition very common after surgery. It’s also usually very minor and imminently treatable. Post-op patients need to know what to do about it, but they don’t need to be scared of it.
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