Motivational Conversation with a Diabetic Patient

Motivational Conversation with a Diabetic Patient

Diabetes is a disruptive infection with the patients struggling on a daily bases without adequate address by the health care professionals. However, there is evidence of a mismatch between the concerns of diabetic individuals and those of the physicians. Considerably, the patients’ struggles are related to their social as well as emotional challenges, including the practical issues accompanying the infection. The effort owes to the fact that the diabetic patients need to follow various self-care recommendations which pose emotional problems to the patients. Ideally, diabetes has a considerable amount of emotional baggage due to work involved as well as the limitations as the life perceptions reveal and the downloaded fear regarding the consequences of the disease. The psychological undergoing may be a tipping point for them, and as a physician, I must feel sympathetic to them.

In my conversation concerning diabetes as an alarming worldwide issue in hospitals, I engaged my friend who has had a chronic diabetic infection in my discussion. The interview was a two-way communication, allowing the patient to asks questions concerning his worries on the disease as well as I answered him and motivating the victim to bear with the situation despite the harsh experiences. As a physician, I applied the skills and experiences I have had in my service to the diabetic patients to respond to the patient wisely. First, I am aware of the financial difficulties which most patients experience in settling hospital bills, and I had to give him hopes of recovering within a short time and be able to work to pay the arrases (Dogru, Ovayolu & Ovayolu, 2019). Probably, what many people worry about concerning the infection is their higher priorities such as the family, sick husbands, work as well as school, which must stop following the commencing diabetic disease.

The patient wondered what I would be experiencing if I had a relative suffering from diabetes, who sought my attention regularly. This was an emotional question that left me in deep thoughts. However, I responded by declaring my sympathetic feeling towards any of the patients who have diabetes regardless of the close relationship we may have. In return, my response satisfied my patient, and he trusted my services in that he could expect the best services from me without any form of segregation. He felt that I had human characters to feel pains experienced by fellow individuals (Piatt & Chiasson, 2016). I attempted to break the patterns of adversarial, authority versus patient, adult-child, rather than the partnership as far as physician-patient relationship is concerned. Besides, I assured the patient of long life and health as a result of good self-care, which is seemingly long term and subtle. I also advised him of the poor self-care occurring as a result of obstacles overweighing the expected benefits of the care, and he assured me to work hard to maintain self-care. The conversation, to some extent showed a sort of patient satisfaction, for he looked better than he was before we conversed.

Probably, motivational interviewing helps address the obstacles to the self-care practice. In my motivation interview, I focused on the strategies that helped improve the patient’s health; thus, I emphasized changes regarding the patient’s behaviors as the MI recommends. The whole process is meant to develop a more patient-centered relationship in the clinical setting.

Additionally, I made my patient aware of the obstacle to good self-care for him to evaluate and follow for recommendable results. Such obstacles ranged from inadequate knowledge and skills, poor health care, environmental barriers to harmful health beliefs. I made him equipped him with skills and knowledge on good self-care, including observing his diet and avoiding what has been restricted by the physician. I advised him to prevent environmental barriers, which include stress, high demands, limited resources, and social as well as cultural influences that deter self-care practices (Burton & Thompson, 2018). However, I notified him of the harmful health beliefs, such as the belief that diabetes is not a big deal and hence ignoring self-care, as well as hopelessness, which results from believing that he can do nothing to manage his situation, thinking that diabetes doomed him. Considerably, the feeling that being diabetic is not a big deal makes the patient believe that he feels fine, and therefore, he guesses he is fine, ignoring the physician’s instructions. Fortunately, the patient promised to observe everything concerning our conversation to make a better life for himself.

However, I ensured that my approach to the patient was guidance, not a direction. The client-centered style of counseling to elicit a behavior change was based on helping the client to explore and resolve AMBIVALENCE. It was all about making him aware and guiding him to get everything done. In this perspective, I approached my patient has found that his HbA1C was high; I asked, “Your A1c is high today? I wonder what you make of this?” the patient responded by claiming that he was not surprised, although it was hard for him to get by day to day without worrying about the situation (Zimmermann & Barnett, 2019). I assured him that life could not stop because just having diabetes, and the patient agreed and complemented that he must be careful for his life to go on well.

References

Dogru, A., Ovayolu, N., & Ovayolu, O. (2019). The effect of motivational interview persons with diabetes on self-management and metabolic variables. JPMA, 69(294).

Piatt, J. A., & Chiasson, L. (2016). Impact of Motivational Interviewing on Readiness for Change and Self-care Behaviours of an Assisted Living Resident with Type I Diabetes. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 50(3), 228.

Burton, R. A., & Thompson, M. (2018). What Do Patients with Diabetes Think of Health Coaching?.

Zimmermann, A. K., & Barnett, F. (2019). What information is essential for accredited exercise physiologists to facilitate change in clients living with type 2 diabetes mellitus?. Australian journal of primary health, 24(6), 510-517.