Active Patient Participation is Half of Ideal Hospital Care

The hospital is a place where a lot of frustration and anxiety meet professional care. It is a place where an incredible amount of information is shared. In this article, we will focus on the patient’s role in dealing with being in the hospital. Ideally, the patient should strive to be in a super-conscious state of mind. This means being totally aware in the moment without the distraction of their own thoughts.
It is difficult for a patient to agree or disagree with a diagnosis, but the patient can be extremely alert when a doctor says what they are going to do. Everyone has heard of examples of doctors operating on the wrong side. One time, a patient was in a surgery room getting prepped for trigeminal nerve (brain) surgery and in intense pain. Before the surgery, the doctor was reviewing the procedure. When he said the surgery would be on the nerve leading to the right side of the jaw, the patient immediately was alarmed. This was because the pain and nerve went to the left side of the jaw. After the doctor checked, he said the right side was what was written on the report. He apologized and operated on the correct side.
The best way for a patient to deal with the complex environment of a hospital is to be totally alert. Patients do not have to go to medical school to know the difference between right and left.
Here are some things a patient can do to be in a receptive state of mind:
• One of the most important things is to have your awareness focus in the silence beyond your thinking mind. This is the home of powerful inner resources, which can empower you to take an active role in healing.
• Develop habits, so that the techniques developed can be triggered by a word or a phrase. When you do that, you can learn a life skill technique, such as confidence. When you say your trigger, you will instantly experience confidence.
• Conscious breathing is an essential part of the healing process. A conscious breath has the ability to direct your awareness, simply by breathing into what you want to become aware of. For instance, if a part of your body was bothering you, breathing into that part of your body heightens your awareness and activates your involvement.
• Learning how to consciously condition your sub-conscious mind can eliminate personal sabotage and direct life skills to work together to create a strong inner healing environment. For instance, when a person develops a positive self-image, they feel more worthy of healing. With self-trust, you are more likely to rely on the life skills you developed. When you have a positive self-image and self-trust working together, you magnify your healing potential.
• Expressing your heart is an important component in strengthening your will to live. The simple act of expressing and receiving love has the ability to increase your will to live. Loving relationships naturally focus you on the future with a positive attitude. That same positive attitude is a valuable addition to the healing process.
When a patient is consciously in the moment, which the above skills will develop, the simple act of healing is at its best. When a patient is in the hospital, they naturally look to the doctor to get better. I strongly encourage the patient to focus on how they can best respond to the medical treatment.
© 2011 Marc Lerner and Life Skills Instituter
Marc Lerner, the author of A Healthy Way to Be Sick is President of Life Skills Institute. For 28 years, he empowered patients to take an active role in healing. Go to http://lifeskillsinc.com to listen to 14 radio shows and how to download the e-book. The doctor/patient partnership is a powerful resource.