Learning Objectives: At the end of this activity, you will be able to:
- Discuss how a health care professional’s attitude and behavior can affect a patient’s care journey.
- Recognize how good patient-provider communication is important in producing positive patient outcomes.
- Discuss some of the fears and concerns a patient might have before going to meet a surgeon for the first time.
Description: IHI staff member Hannah Humpal had knee surgery a few years ago. Her surgeon told her she had a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of rejecting the tissue during the procedure. As fate would have it, she was the 1. Hannah shares her story of a rocky journey through the health care system – and how she would have done things differently today.
Discussion Questions:
- How did Hannah’s first surgeon affect her journey through the health care system?
- Put yourself in Hannah’s shoes. What would you have done if you met with a surgeon and didn’t feel comfortable from the start?
- Put yourself in the first surgeon’s shoes. How would you have reacted when Hannah came back to talk about the surgery three years later?
- Compare Hannah’s two surgeons. What made the second surgery experience so much better for Hannah?
- Do you remember the first time you met with a doctor or other health care professional? What were your emotions at the time? Fear? Nervousness? Something else?
