Check out this post by Dr. Susan Shaw from the Saskatoon Health Region. It presents a compelling story, worth reading about the goals established by one of her patients. She relates:
On Saturday morning I came in to the ICU and started rounds. When I entered Mrs. C’s room, her daughter jumped up with excitement and said, “Look at what Mom wrote for you!” She showed me a piece of paper on a clipboard, with two goals written in somewhat shaky writing.
Here's Susan's summation:
The daily goals I set with my team focus on the medical management: a negative fluid balance, a specific level of wakefulness, followup with a pathology report, moving to the next step on the ICU mobility protocol.
These goals are important. They provide direction for the ICU nurses and therapists. But they aren’t inspirational or motivational. They are simply small steps that must be taken to get us to what really matters: the goals set by our patients.
On Saturday morning I came in to the ICU and started rounds. When I entered Mrs. C’s room, her daughter jumped up with excitement and said, “Look at what Mom wrote for you!” She showed me a piece of paper on a clipboard, with two goals written in somewhat shaky writing.
The daily goals I set with my team focus on the medical management: a negative fluid balance, a specific level of wakefulness, followup with a pathology report, moving to the next step on the ICU mobility protocol.
These goals are important. They provide direction for the ICU nurses and therapists. But they aren’t inspirational or motivational. They are simply small steps that must be taken to get us to what really matters: the goals set by our patients.
