HLN #3: Understanding Healthcare as a Story
This will help define your goal as a health literacy enthusiast
Happy Midweek!
In the last two editions, we looked at the importance of words, when engaging with patients and the public. But before we begin to apply the lessons, it is good we understand the role we play in the patient’s health/recovery journey.
You see, the universe is made up of a̶t̶o̶m̶s̶ stories. This is no different in the practice and business of healthcare. It is fundamental to understand the elements that make the health story and their roles. Storytelling elements are the building blocks on which every other activity is done. With these, you appreciate your indispensable role in the entire healthcare story journey.
In every story, 5 core elements exist: character, circumstance, conflict, climax, and change. Though these parts are evolving and are often called different names, the key thing is to find where you fit in the wellbeing of those you care for.
There are often two major characters in a health story. One is the patient, and the other is you, the practitioner. The patient is the hero (or protagonist) of the health story who is in a quest to ease their pain or attain a feeling of pleasure. Simply put, the most important character in the health story is the patient.
Sometimes their circumstances (age, wellbeing status, heredity/family history, socioeconomic and cultural status, or even political determinants of health) create room for conflict or crisis. At the crisis stage, the most important problem that forms the sense of mission for the patient or target group becomes a question. How can I recover? Oftentimes, with the trends in lifestyle medicine, it can become “How can I do better?” or “How can I stay healthy?”
At the heat/peak of the patients’ journey, their quest is heightened to seek recovery through proper care or advice of the healthcare provider. This is the climax stage, where the patient, wants only one thing: to move from crises to change. They want what hinders them to be taken away, or that which is good to become available. They are in search of a transformation. Yes, the absence of pain and the presence of wellbeing.
Your role as a healthcare worker in the healthcare story arc is that of a deuteragonist, the second most important character, who mentors the patient or the prioritized population, from the point of crisis to the point of change. You are the one who initiates transformation. (Click to tweet)
Understanding your importance is critical. It is not just backed by the authority of a practicing license, it is the ticket that separates life from death. In your journey towards helping others prevent diseases and promote health, meeting their exact health needs is dependent on seeing the entire healthcare system as a story of two main, and other supporting characters, as well as knowing your role.
In case you missed it, YOU are the second most important character, whose competence qualifies you to take the patient from the point of crisis to the point of transformation, change, or victory. These patients often care about you, because of the results that you help them achieve. Maybe it’s why you’re often called superhero!
Here's what I want you to do this week:
Share this newsletter with a healthcare provider that means so much to you. You can click to tweet about what you have just read. Or share with your friends on other social platforms.
One quote I am ruminating on:
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” - Thomas Edison
Upcoming Health Days in September
Sep 28: World Rabies Day
Sep 29: World Heart Day
Sep 29: International Day of Awareness of Food Loss & Waste
Download this 2021 Health and Wellness Calendar to see and plan for more important health days in the year.
Got questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send an email to healthliteracynotepad@gmail.com
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Stay relevant,
Chidindu Mmadu-Okoli
Health Literacy Notepad