Thursday, February 23, 2012

Opening Thoughts....

The opening invitation to the site is, we all agree, important to setting the tone and what "we believe".

How do we see this going?

4 comments:

  1. This is basically what I think people should know.......


    Medical facilities can be confusing places. We are often faced with decisions that have been quickly thrust upon us, and then release our bodies into the hands of virtual strangers that we must trust. Maybe we have been rushed through a pile of mysterious papers, and given up the autonomy to our body that we often never knew we had. It is scary. It is intimidating. It can also be embarrassing and humiliating when we find that our body can and will be exposed to strangers in ways that we never were prepared for.

    How people/patients feel afterward varies, but often they feel shocked and angry at the level of modesty that was given up in exchange for medical care. They wonder why they were not told about persons who would be allowed in the room during these most intimate times. When exactly had they given away all rights to the expectations of how their naked body would be treated? Their trust in the medical system erodes, and is replaced with the resentment of not being told exactly what their bodies would go through. And perhaps most importantly; with whom.

    AFPM believes that people/patients have the right to know exactly what to expect in medical situations. They have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, based on whatever personal or ethical foundation they choose.

    We believe:

    Thoughts?

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  2. Yes..it is pretty basic. But when I think back to what brought me here, these are things I knew people were questioning. Most will not have been on the journey with us for 4 or 5 years. So, do we need to be this basic about who we are?

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  3. Suzy:
    I agree with what you state people/patients should know. I feel exactly the same when I think back on the experience that brought me to these blogs. The challenge I see, however, is deciding how this issue and ultimate solution (knowing up front what to expect, who will be involved, what amount of exposure will be required, etc.) can be addressed. Is it better handled on an individual basis or as a system-wide approach? It would be much more difficult to try and accomplish some sort of system-wide policy. If it is left to individuals to negotiate, a lot of people will still be negatively impacted because it may be a first time experience and they will not have the knowledge to better approach the system. That may eventually bring them to this site, which would help them in the future but how do we get this site promoted to a wider audience?

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  4. So, how can we help? Where should we start? There is so much need for this now is not a question anymore.

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