Guest guest Posted November 19, 1999 Report Share Posted November 19, 1999 I understand the childcare issue and other issue you have brought up. These are the same issues that nurses, respiratory therapists, aides, even physicians, they have to provide care 7 days a week do to the need of the patient. Again we need to look at why we became a therapist, and what does the patient need. I am sure if the patient had there choice, they would not prefer to be in the hospital/SNF on over the weekend or on the holiday either tmhnlo-@... wrote: original article:/group/ptmanager/?start=8704 > Just some observations and thoughts in regard to providing weekend coverage > for all patients: > > 1. I have noted that many of those who seem to be responding with a sort of, > well, surprised response that no one has suggested this before are male. > > 2. Has anyone given any thought to what would be involved with trying to > arrange childcare for therapists who have children? Before anyone gives the > " easy " answer of having the other spouse watch the children while the > therapist goes to work, what if the other person's work schedule does not > match? How easily can childcare be arranged for those who would not have a > spouse to watch the children (ie. single parent)? Would that be fair to ask > those without children to be the ones to always provide the weekend coverage > (I would think not.)? > > 3. If a patient breaks their arm, they go the ER, where the bone is set and > stabilized. They then see the orthopedist on the next working day, in most > cases, where further followup is done (or at least, that has been the > experience I have seen here). To have specialists on call for conditions > which do not require immediate care/stabilization, I would think, would > markedly increase the cost of care for all involved. > > 4. Back to the childcare thing, I was thinking that, of course, there are > many women who are physicians, as well as men, who may be single parents. > However, the pay scale that they operate with for their household budget is > markedly different than the average therapist. So where they may be able to > afford a private nanny who could be on call, most therapists are left to try > to find a neighbor, family member, teenage sitter, etc. to cover when trying > to go in to get a few hours of work done on a weekend (yes, I speak from > experience!). > > Again, not trying to be negative, but before we begin to point fingers at how > we should all be providing care on weekends, let's look at what all is > involved in doing so. By the way, I don't even work in acute care, so this > really isn't usually an issue for me. I just know what I have run across in > looking at trying to go in to get a few hours of work caught up on a > Saturday! > > Tina > > > Deciding whether to see a patient or not based on the day of the week > (or the holi-day of the week) (ouch, sorry) is has no place in clinical > practice. I have these same thoughts as I read the recent postings regarding > PPS holidays. If the patient is acute enough to need 7 days of > intervention - that is what should be provided. Unfortunately, that is in > a perfect world. In the real world, administrators have the " bottom line " to > consider also. This is where shared risk comes in. Ya gotta do what ya > gotta do toward the common goal - maximizing the patient's potential. > > > > > Lou , PT > Richmond, VA > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 1999 Report Share Posted November 19, 1999 Tmhnlou@... wrote: > <snip>2. Has anyone given any thought to what would be involved with trying > to > arrange childcare for therapists who have children? Before anyone gives the > " easy " answer of having the other spouse watch the children while the > therapist goes to work, what if the other person's work schedule does not > match? How easily can childcare be arranged for those who would not have a > spouse to watch the children (ie. single parent)? Would that be fair to ask > those without children to be the ones to always provide the weekend coverage > (I would think not.)? > > <snip> > > 4. Back to the childcare thing, I was thinking that, of course, there are > many women who are physicians, as well as men, who may be single parents. > However, the pay scale that they operate with for their household budget is > markedly different than the average therapist. So where they may be able to > afford a private nanny who could be on call, most therapists are left to try > to find a neighbor, family member, teenage sitter, etc. to cover when trying > to go in to get a few hours of work done on a weekend (yes, I speak from > experience!). > > Again, not trying to be negative, but before we begin to point fingers at how > we should all be providing care on weekends, let's look at what all is > involved in doing so. <snip> I don't really see how or why this would figure into whether patients need or deserve treatment. There are many people with similar, or lower, incomes who must work nights and weekends - police, nurses, grocery store clerks, movie theater employees, retail store workers...... and so on. If the job demands it, someone will have to work it. As the single parent of a 9 yr.old, however, I can certainly sympathize with the child care situation. It does narrow the range of job options available. Sandy Curwin Bangor, Maine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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