Lived experience shared with AdvocateNT
Contributors personal experience: I broke my wrist badly in the middle of moving house aged 52, seen a Senior Registrar at the [name withheld] Hospital who cuffed/numbed my entire arm so she could pull my wrist back into position. So, in front of a group of student doctors we followed this process, didn’t take long, it was then X-rayed in position with a portable X-ray machine.
She wasn’t happy with the result, not quite right – so repeated the process.
The consultant came in to inspect her work before my wrist was set in plaster, he looked at both X-rays, asked how old I was (52) then said, in front of all, “At that age I wouldn’t have bothered repeating the process – it was ‘good enough’ ”!
The consultant was actually older than me – no excuse.
Thank goodness I didn’t see him, this attitude appears to be part of the teaching!
I was told I would likely have bother with that wrist as I got older, however I never did as a good job was done when the opportunity presented itself.
I remain very grateful and this experience also prompted me to look into medical abuse more closely in years to follow.
Ageist language can present itself at 50 years – categorising an individual as too old is offensive and is happening in hospital environments in Australia.
Thank you for sharing this lived experience, others can share their experiences via the contact page on this web site in confidence.
Exercises for the medical student or researcher
- Was the attending doctor patient centric to deliver the best care regardless of age?
- If the consultant was concerned about a risk to the patient then what was missing in his conversation with the doctor?
- Does the 52 year old have the right to be concerned with the care as a result of the consultants’ statements?
- Suggested group role play on how this real-world situation should have gone.
- Discuss what this patients experience has shown you.