This past week, I was privileged enough to shadow Dr. Patrick O'Donnell at the clinic at the Saint Vincent de Paul Society (SVP).
I felt like I was able to learn a lot and get firsthand experience how most doctors should deal with/treat their patients. I have been lucky that I was able to previously work with people who were homeless and food insecure when I volunteered back in Calgary; this observership was my first time however, with experience with some individuals who were battling addiction. Initially, the place that I was to observe Patrick was at the Ana Liffey Drug project but due to the adverse weather conditions, our meeting place was moved to SVP. On this particular day, was the start of the forecast for adverse weather conditions throughout Ireland due to Storm Emma so SVP (and downtown) was hectic - phones ringing off the hook, people trying to organize hamper deliveries/pick up, people trying to organize shelter for people who had no where else to go. It was a freezing afternoon as I made my way through downtown to meet Patrick at SVP. We were unsure if we would be busy at all due to the storm warning and the snow coming and going. During Patrick's first appointment with a patient, I was able to quietly observe in the corner the interaction. I noticed how gentle, nonjudgemental Patrick was with his patients. He always tried to maintain eye contact and minimize his use of his computer (if he even used it at all). As an outsider, I could feel how caring he was and was the kind of family doctor anyone would want - he was personable, able to offer more information for the patient's condition/concerns, and you could tell that many of his patients trusted him because of his nonjudgmental personality. It was amazing to see that Patrick was like this with EACH and every patient; he was consistent in his treatment of them as human beings which is all we really strive for as doctors. He worked hard to help his patients overcome their addictions and to get patients back into the normal health care system. One of the patients that saw Patrick was uncomfortable with my presence - it's important to NOT get offended when this happens because this is their time with the doctor and you're just privileged to be privy to it; you are NOT entitled to knowing the patient's business if they don't want you to. So I was able to take the time and talk to the key workers, P* (who was kind of like a social worker/case worker). I learned that there are only 6 workers for Ana Liffey who had to deal with the entire Mid West Region of Ireland or Limerick, Clare, and Tipperary. Their harm reduction approach has helped so many people and has helped them foster relationships that helped people with addictions. It was so refreshing to meet this very nice man whose work was very difficult but had a sunny disposition. He revealed to me that one of the individuals that he was working with unfortunately passed away, which was very difficult for him. However, it is important he said that you not take work home with you. Going into the observership, I was very scared - scared of making a mistake, insulting the patient or making them uncomfortable, scared of Patrick thinking I was an idiot, or worse, the patient being unable to share their concerns when this was supposed to be their time with Patrick and I was just trespassing. However, it was overall a great experience and Patrick was an awesome teacher as he and I were able to talk between patients. I was able to learn a lot from the key worker P* (name hidden) and from Rachel (Team Lead of Ana Liffey in the Mid West Region) about the wonderful work that they do with the Ana Liffey drug project. Charleen Salmon is a 1st year student in GEMS at the University of Limerick
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
CaesuraRotating views on various subjects concerning health (in)equity Health Equity NutSome streams of consciousness on the subjects of the tragic and the mundane. Archives
February 2021
Categories |