Physicians and Patients Need Patience

We are familiar with the many conditions that may impede wound healing such as poor nutrition, impaired blood supply, and previous radiation treatments resulting in a hostile wound environment.

As wound care practitioners, we create individualized plans of care that focus on the pertinent components to optimize healing outcomes. We address the biological aspects of wound healing and explain the importance of these factors with the hope that a patient’s level of enhanced understanding will parlay into a higher level of compliance.

Have you considered that a seeming disinterest in the plan may be the manifestation of a patient’s lack of motivation due to social and psychological factors? Nonetheless, we encouragingly urge patients to “Hang in there, this is not going to happen overnight, it takes time, don’t give up because things will get better.”

Well, those words seem to reverberate during these troubling times. Is it safe to presume that we have all felt a bit overwhelmed, exhausted, or downright “down” right about now? As for me, this cheerleader needed a break. However, it’s time to take my own advice and practice what I preach.

I admit that I do ask a lot from my patients. Yes, I want my patients with diabetes to adhere to a proper American Diabetes Association diet, to inspect their feet daily, to get annual eye examinations, and to engage in healthy lifestyles choices with cessation of nicotine, limited alcohol usage, and regular exercise. Likewise, yes, I want my patients with venous disease to elevate their legs whenever possible, perform calf muscle pump exercises, and for heaven’s sake, commit to wearing their compression stockings as advised. Am I asking for too much?

Get back to the discipline that yields results, but more importantly share in the sentiment that things will get better with time. We ask our patients to have patience, so why not ask that of ourselves.

Until next time …

Monique Abner, MD, CWSP, is affiliated with Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine, part of Tower Health Medical Group, in Wyomissing, PA. Dr. Abner's professional affiliations include the American Board of Wound Management, the American Society of Plastic Surgery, Diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgeons, member of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, and member of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care.