Bridging the Gap Between Professions

Having the privilege of participating in Word on the Wards was an immensely enlightening experience. The interdisciplinary approach was what I found to be most beneficial within this whole process. Not only does this bridge the gap between professions, but it allows us to learn from each other, and propels us to work in a collaborative manner. On the second day of my WoW experience I was able to work with a very knowledgeable first year medical student, who taught me a lot that day about patient care. Upon going through the cases individually, I was taken back by the extensive knowledge this medical student had within discerning all the various ailments, medications, and conditions the patient was undergoing. Shortly after speaking to the coordinators about our plan, which was to educate this patient about his habitual smoking patterns in regard to his health, I realized the importance of compassion. While I was observing and hearing the medical student speak about the various ways we would educate this patient, I raised my hand and paused when we were asked, what is the first thing you plan on saying. While I agreed that it was important to inform the patient about his condition, I saw another approach more fitting. I posed the idea of starting by asking the patient “why do you like to smoke?”, this question would hopefully help us understand the patient, and not make him feel guilty. After all, I highly doubt we would be the first individuals coming in to tell him all the risk factors associated with smoking. The conversational and empathetic perspective, while maintain the goal of listening to the patient was what helped us engage and relate to each patient we saw that day. I was able to talk to my partner after our sessions were over, and realized the vitality in maintaining a cohesive and collaborative working environment while being open to learning from one another.