Advice for talking to your Doctor

In BC the amount of time we have to see a doctor is limited to about 8 minutes per visit, so we have to make good use of our time. Many doctors, will only deal with one issue at a time, and the time they have is limited.

Make Good Use of Your Time 

Be honest

It is tempting to say what you think the doctor wants to hear, for example, that you smoke less or eat a more balanced diet than you really do. While this is natural, it’s not in your best interest. Your doctor can suggest the best treatment only if you say what is really going on. For instance, you might say: “I have been trying to quit smoking, as you recommended, but I am not making much headway.”

Decide what questions are most important

Pick three or four questions or concerns that you most want to talk about with the doctor. You can tell him or her what they are at the beginning of the appointment, and then discuss each in turn. If you have time, you can then go on to other questions.

Stick to the point

Although your doctor might like to talk with you at length, each patient is given a limited amount of time. To make the best use of your time, stick to the point. For instance, give the doctor a brief description of the symptom, when it started, how often it happens, and if it is getting worse or better. Share your point of view about the visit.

Tell the doctor if you feel rushed, worried, or uncomfortable

If necessary, you can offer to return for a second visit to discuss your concerns. Try to voice your feelings in a positive way. For example, you could say something like: “I know you have many patients to see, but I’m really worried about this. I’d feel much better if we could talk about it a little more.”

Remember, the doctor may not be able to answer all your questions

Even the best doctor may be unable to answer some questions. Most doctors will tell you when they don’t have answers. They also may help you find the information you need or refer you to a specialist. If a doctor regularly brushes off your questions or symptoms as simply a part of ageing, think about looking for another doctor.

As you talk to your doctor, make sure you remember and understand what she/he is telling you. Here are some tips to help in this area:

Helping You Remember No matter what your age, it’s easy to forget a lot of what your doctor says. Even if you are comfortable talking with your doctor, you may not always understand what he or she says. So, as your doctor gives you information, it’s a good idea to check that you are following along. Ask about anything that does not seem clear. For instance, you might say: “I want to make sure I understand. Could you explain that a little more?” or “I did not understand that word. What does it mean?” Another way to check is to repeat what you think the doctor means in your own words and ask, “Is this correct?”

Here are some other ideas to help make sure you have all the information you need.

Take notes

Take along a notepad and pen and write down the main points, or ask the doctor to write them down for you. If you can’t write while the doctor is talking to you, make notes in the waiting room after the visit. Or, bring an audio recorder along and (with the doctor’s permission) record what is said. A Recording is especially helpful if you want to share the details of the visit with others.

Get written or recorded materials

Ask if your doctor has any brochures, DVDs, or other materials about your health conditions or treatments. For example, if your doctor says that your blood pressure is high, he or she may give you brochures explaining what causes high blood pressure and what you can do about it. Ask the doctor to recommend other sources, such as websites, disease management centres, nonprofit organisations, and government agencies that may have written or recorded information you can use.

Talk to other members of the healthcare team

Sometimes, the doctor may want you to talk with other health professionals who can help you understand and carry out the decisions about how to manage your condition. Nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, and occupational or physical therapists may be able to take more time with you than the doctor.

Call or email the doctor

If you are uncertain about the doctor’s instructions after you get home, call the office. A nurse or other staff member can check with the doctor and call you back. You could ask whether the doctor or another health professional you have talked to, has an email address or online health portal you can use to send questions

Engagement by Seniors in nursing homes is important

In BC the province where I live seniors in homes do not have the minimum care required by law and our provincial government is in no hurry to fix this problem. However, in other parts of the world, there is much being done. For example, in a survey of staff from 172 Swedish nursing homes, most residents had been outside the nursing home during the previous week, but only one-fifth had been on an outing or excursion.

Very few residents visited a restaurant, engaged in an education program, went to the cinema, or even engaged in activities such as hobbies and parlour games.

The findings can inform staff and managers to promote increased engagement in everyday activities for nursing home residents to support their wellbeing.

"The study demonstrates that activities are an important approach to increasing thriving, and that everyday activities can be conceptualised and implemented as nursing interventions to facilitate resident thriving as opposed to resident surviving in nursing home care", said Sabine Björk, lead author of the Journal of Advanced Nursing study.

The most commonly occurring everyday activities were receiving hugs and physical touch, talking to relatives/friends and receiving visitors, having conversation with staff not related to care and grooming. The least commonly occurring everyday activities were going to the cinema, participating in an educational program, visiting a restaurant and doing everyday chores. Positive associations were found between activity engagement and thriving, where engagement in an activity program, dressing nicely and spending time with someone the resident likes had the strongest positive association with resident thriving.

Engagement in everyday activities can support personhood and thriving and can be conceptualized and implemented as nursing interventions to enable residents to thrive in nursing homes.

Chunk what we learn

We learn faster if we chunk what we have to learn, I was told the other day. I dance but not well, so I was told that if I wanted to learn to dance, I should chunk the dance moves. Learn the first eight steps, then the next eight, and then finally put them together and you will have learned the dance. Easy to say hard to do. So, if you go first and reach for the fruit; I'll shake the tree.  We will do a little dance; I'll add some music.

I think it might be the same as we move toward our dreams. Try chunking the steps you make, first move in the direction of your dreams, even though at first nothing seems to happen;  as we move the stars will align we will connect the dots, trim the hedge, move some mountains, float the boat, and see you at the ball. Where we will dance to your dreams

I love the world as a metaphor and metaphorically speaking you can dance at the ball, even as you build your dreams one chunk at a time.

The HakiPensheni

 I found a very interesting blog called HakiPensheni which I encourage you to read. To read the posts, you have to move down past the ads they have at the top of the page. Once you get to the actual blog posts, you will find them interesting and informative.
The following is from their Blog page "About Us" The HakiPensheni is a non-profit generating organ and its main objective is to protect and promote the pension rights of workers, retirees, and their families. We inspire to become a leader in East Africa region in providing accessible information about social security rights, entitlements, obligations and responsibilities among the contributors so as to make sure they have enough money to live on when they are too old to work. The aim is to become the east Africa’s leading pension educator, targeting at the forefront of efforts to reform the regional's pension programs, targeting inequities in pension laws, providing policymakers with reasoned analyses of pension issues, and proposing workable solutions to pension problems. 

Our vision is to make pensions accessible and we do this by explaining and resolving pension issues for everyone and to ensure that every retirement system simultaneously meets the needs of employers and workers.

The following is from an article about women and retirement that is on the site.

There are ways for pension providers and employers to optimise women’s engagement with pension plans, including:

•        Encourage women to start saving into their pensions early to make up for any missed contributions

•        Engage women at key points in their lives, such as during maternity leave or a career break, and explain the impact it will have on their pension

•        Improve communication through face-to-face and personal interaction (this could include hosting savings bootcamps, which is a common practice in the US)

•        Auto-escalation schemes that encourage a savings increase to make up for missed contributions

•        ϖ Student loan payments or childcare voucher payments defaulting into pension payments once they are no longer required

•        Provide greater support to improve financial knowledge and confidence.

The challenge for the industry is to come up with easily accessible, flexible vehicles that allow people to save for a variety of differing retirement needs.

In addition to industry guidance, solutions such as auto-escalation of contributions increased contributions for set periods of time on return from career breaks and well-designed, diversified investment options also need to be considered.

Addressing women’s retirement needs requires a multi-dimensional approach at all levels, from government policy, pension providers, employers and women themselves.