There is a hall at the conference that houses all the poster presentations and one that I found quite interesting was that regarding patient satisfaction and it looked at making the patient feel they are the focus of the center. There was a bulletin board just for patients, there is a specific nurse that follows you through your chemo and another during your radiation and it also talked about the liason person between each. They talked about pet therapy and music therapy and also art therapy and about special robes for treatment. This all sounded markedly similar to our environment. Another component that was discussed was the " SORRY WORKS" importance and that is something we look at as well as thanking our patients for choosing us for their treatment. The information that patients gathered on the internet was also of interest and how to incorporate it into your educational process. I also loved looking at the latest and greatest while attending the vendors exhibit. There is now an automated ultrasound and the mobile mammography units were amazing and so many ancillary products including markers for the breast tumor and educational materials including literature and models. and that was just the first day. Are you tired yet?
I walked away with a wealth of information and now it is time to gather my thoughts and look at ways to include it in my everyday efforts.
One area that I felt bad to not see because of change or venue, was a program on "beyond lotions and potions: innovative medical management for sexuality and menopause". This is an area not discussed as much as needed and is part of improving the survivor's quality of life. So many times we are busy putting out fires to not realize that there are other issues that have importance as well.
I promise that I will keep learning and including tidbits that I have learned and how to use or apply them and as always, Make it a great day!. S