my disappointments at major hospital in urban community
repost from main messge board b/c I spend my time on the VSG forum and thought I'd share...
WARNING: lonnnnnnggggg "ranting type" post! LOL
Let me preface this by first saying that I am not a racially driven or racially opinonated person. I was born and raised in a multi-cultured community. Furthermore, my first experience in an "all black" atmosphere was not even until I went to Howard University, a top of list HBCU (historically black college/university).
However, I do recognize the reality of certain racial disparities...in the medical field, specifically the WLS community, I find these disparities haunting!
So...I am currently enrolled in a program in Baltimore. Although Bmore is a large urban city, the hospital is in its downtown area and a home to a mix of people/staff/patients. To make a long story short (I'm trying!), I decided to go to another hospital closer to me that I knew from their website had a very extensive bariatric program, just for a second opinion in this major life changing decision. Before this, I'd aleady seen 3-4 presentations at other area hospitals.
Outside of them starting like 15 min late b/c the projector wasn't set up ahead of time (as it had been at other seminars I'd already attended), the visual quality of the presentation was less than what I'd previously experienced, the information was...very "bland"...vague...not detailed...short, all of the above! Previous presentations I'd seen were equally informative and impressive, and I felt like I'd taken away something from each one. But after experiencing this presentation at this last hospital, I was very disheartened...If this had been my first presentation, I realized that I would have been ignorant to a great deal of important info that all people seeking WLS should be exposed to. The surgeon didn't even finish the powerpoint before he started taking questions, so people lost out on even more info. Some good questions were asked but the doc failed to guide/lead the session to provide optimum info and explantions. It became a ranting session for those in attendance. It lacked so much educational value and I would pray that none of them would make the decision to start the process just based on that info alone that was provided. I literally had to control myself from jumping up and adding like 20 more of my own slides! And since the surgeon just let people start talking during the presentation, I started expounding on more info and answering some of their questions when I felt like the doc was just breezing right over the details. I even asked questions that I already knew the answers to just so that they could hear the response from the doc. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist!
What bothers me is this...the whole room was all Black, except for the surgeon. Even in 2011, there is such a stigma associated with black uneducated people in urban areas, who are uninformed and do not read. Of course I know this NOT to be true, but I realize that there ARE a great amount of people in urban/low income areas who ARE uneducated, have mental health barriers and do not read, research, and DO have difficulty understanding and comprehending at a level to make an informed decision about their health (this is not just black people of course!).
Why would this hospital, as such a staple in a community that is very concentrated with low income people, where many are categorized as uneducated, be so lackadaisical in their initial approach and introduction to their program? I don't understand why they would fail to provide researched information that is significant and up to date. It's not a secret that culturally, due to most african american's diets, that we are prone to obesity and other health related illnesses/diseases. The last thing needed is the short end of the stick.
The stats they used seemed so outdated in comparison to other hospital programs I'd seen in just the last month.This is supposed to be a research 1 hospital that has won several awards...
I am just shocked by their inadequate information provided to potential bariatric patients. Their website does outline a pretty extensive program. I just hope that it's not shallow like their seminar was... I posted this on the main forum but I spend all my time here so I decided to repost...
WARNING: lonnnnnnggggg "ranting type" post! LOL
Let me preface this by first saying that I am not a racially driven or racially opinonated person. I was born and raised in a multi-cultured community. Furthermore, my first experience in an "all black" atmosphere was not even until I went to Howard University, a top of list HBCU (historically black college/university).
However, I do recognize the reality of certain racial disparities...in the medical field, specifically the WLS community, I find these disparities haunting!
So...I am currently enrolled in a program in Baltimore. Although Bmore is a large urban city, the hospital is in its downtown area and a home to a mix of people/staff/patients. To make a long story short (I'm trying!), I decided to go to another hospital closer to me that I knew from their website had a very extensive bariatric program, just for a second opinion in this major life changing decision. Before this, I'd aleady seen 3-4 presentations at other area hospitals.
Outside of them starting like 15 min late b/c the projector wasn't set up ahead of time (as it had been at other seminars I'd already attended), the visual quality of the presentation was less than what I'd previously experienced, the information was...very "bland"...vague...not detailed...short, all of the above! Previous presentations I'd seen were equally informative and impressive, and I felt like I'd taken away something from each one. But after experiencing this presentation at this last hospital, I was very disheartened...If this had been my first presentation, I realized that I would have been ignorant to a great deal of important info that all people seeking WLS should be exposed to. The surgeon didn't even finish the powerpoint before he started taking questions, so people lost out on even more info. Some good questions were asked but the doc failed to guide/lead the session to provide optimum info and explantions. It became a ranting session for those in attendance. It lacked so much educational value and I would pray that none of them would make the decision to start the process just based on that info alone that was provided. I literally had to control myself from jumping up and adding like 20 more of my own slides! And since the surgeon just let people start talking during the presentation, I started expounding on more info and answering some of their questions when I felt like the doc was just breezing right over the details. I even asked questions that I already knew the answers to just so that they could hear the response from the doc. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist!
What bothers me is this...the whole room was all Black, except for the surgeon. Even in 2011, there is such a stigma associated with black uneducated people in urban areas, who are uninformed and do not read. Of course I know this NOT to be true, but I realize that there ARE a great amount of people in urban/low income areas who ARE uneducated, have mental health barriers and do not read, research, and DO have difficulty understanding and comprehending at a level to make an informed decision about their health (this is not just black people of course!).
Why would this hospital, as such a staple in a community that is very concentrated with low income people, where many are categorized as uneducated, be so lackadaisical in their initial approach and introduction to their program? I don't understand why they would fail to provide researched information that is significant and up to date. It's not a secret that culturally, due to most african american's diets, that we are prone to obesity and other health related illnesses/diseases. The last thing needed is the short end of the stick.
The stats they used seemed so outdated in comparison to other hospital programs I'd seen in just the last month.This is supposed to be a research 1 hospital that has won several awards...
I am just shocked by their inadequate information provided to potential bariatric patients. Their website does outline a pretty extensive program. I just hope that it's not shallow like their seminar was... I posted this on the main forum but I spend all my time here so I decided to repost...
Healthcare education is tricky ( it's a big part of my oncology nursing practice). Studys have shown that people only retain 10-15% of material presented. When a patient has a question they really want to ask and are forced to wait until the end of a lecture, they may not absorb anything else until the question is answered, because they are focused on the question. I'm hoping this doc was aware of it and was trying to answer some questions. I can't imagine anyone making a major decision based on a seminar with a large group. I hope that paractice does more teaching one on one during the consultation, or in smaller pre-op classes like the one I attended. I've done extensive teaching with people of all races and education levels and I find the stigma against urban African-americans to be unfounded. You just need to start with each person, figure out their needs, concerns and how they feel they learn best and go from there. I hope that happens with the people in that group as they move on.
putting one foot in front of the other... 
Maybe it was just that one presenters personality. Maybe he is so over worked he doesn't have time to update the information. Maybe he resented being there when he needed to be some where else. Maybe he is extremely uncomfortable in front of groups. Maybe he has no or minimal experience in controlling groups of people and didn't know how to keep audience members from taking over. Maybe, maybe, maybe...
You don't want to paint the entire hospital with the same brush based on one sub-par seminar do you?
Have you given the hospital or the program director your feedback? They won't know there is a problem if no one tells them.
You don't want to paint the entire hospital with the same brush based on one sub-par seminar do you?
Have you given the hospital or the program director your feedback? They won't know there is a problem if no one tells them.
Original surgery: VSG Feb. 2009
REVISED TO RNY FEBRUARY 2016
Height: 5'7"
Start weight: 252. Current weight: 120
On July 22, 2011 at 4:10 PM Pacific Time, theshrinkingmimi wrote:
I have no excuses. I think it sounded unprofessional. You don't plan to have surgery with this doctor do you?Well not necessarily...I'm already a patient at another hospital but just wanted a second opinion so I'm just weighing all my options! This is definitely an interesting road to travel...
Most Active
Recent Topics
