Hey guys,
I have a few cases at the moment on my prac where I might have to face telling my pts some hard news. One is a girl about our age who my supervisor and I suspect has an ACL tear (partial or rupture) that she sustained about 2 months ago. Her clinical picture does not perfectly fit the “classic” ACL presentation and it may just be a slight ACL strain with assoc meniscal injury or chondral/articular cartilage bruise. I explained to her that there were a few possible diagnoses (including ACL tear) and we are currently trying some Rx with the hope that she improves so we can exclude ACL tear.
My other patient has come in with knee pain after an MBA but he has REALLY hypermobile joints (McMurray’s on the unaffected and affected side causes tib-fem subluxation with internal and external rotation of the tibia!!!). Because of his appearance and hypermobility, my supervisor thinks he may have an undiagnosed medical condition that can be quite serious.
Just wondering if anyone has any hints as to how I can approach telling a promising young athlete that I think she may need a knee reconstruction (or at least need further investigations as this is what I suspect) and how do I tell my hypermobile pt that he should visit his doctor regarding his health when he’s just got a sore knee!!
xox
1 comment:
Hey Shani, I think the best thing you can do when telling patients/clients difficult news is just to be honest. In the long run no matter how hard the news is, honesty will always be appreciated. Show some compassion and explain the situation to the best of your knowledge. I think the earlier you tell them what you think is going on the better. I feel that there would be nothing worse if you just kind of strung them along and then after a few months said actually I can't help you so go see you doctor etc. Be honest and explain the short and long term issues and your sorted.
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