Researchers should check-in with patients and ask how they are doing, suggests Claire
Transcript
I would have to say that skills and training are really key, interpersonal skills are particularly important because of the vulnerability that patients feel, and yeah, it’s – you feel very fragile, not all the time, but there are periods where, you know, where I was feeling unwell that I felt quite fragile. So, I think an appreciation of where patients are at. The other thing that I think is really important for teams to understand is the impact – the emotional impact. So, the vulnerability, but there’s also a loss of self-esteem. So, you know, I know in my own circumstances, I felt that my self-esteem had really taken a bashing with my illness and diagnosis. I felt like – I didn’t know who I was anymore. I was always a strong, outspoken woman, and my cancer kind of took some of that away from me.
So, being at team meetings, you know, I think researchers need to be aware that patients may be feeling vulnerable, may be suffering with a loss of self-esteem and really need to, you know, if somebody’s quiet or not contributing, to check-in with them and see, you know, what they’re thinking, what they’re feeling, what input they have, following-up after meetings, I think, is very important, as well. Because, I think, because of that vulnerability, you know, and because of the information that is sometimes discussed in a research environment like, you know, I think of clinical trials, teams where patients are included and, you know, they might be hearing information that’s some unsettling. And so, I think it’s very important for teams to, you know, the team lead to check-in and see how they’re doing.
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