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Latest combat Farsi
Jun. 5th, 2008 10:03 pmSard: Ice (cold?)
Sard compresse: cold pack
ein-jo: here, as in "dard ein-jo", which of course means "it hurts here". Boy did THAT one expand my horizons.
Latest combat Farsi
May. 20th, 2008 10:07 amBo-ro un-ja bee-ya: Walk over there, then walk back here.
Ki kotak mi-khat: He needs a slappin'.
Ki kotak mi-khat: He needs a slappin'.
Someone pointed me to Coffee Break Spanish podcasts. Just so you know, they rule.... even though so far they concentrate on general stuff, not physical-therapy-specific stuff.
Current Combat Spanish acquisitions, gleaned from the amused mostly-Spanish-Speaking patient:
Huesos-- joints
Camello-- Camel (for the cat-camel stretch, of course)
Padrastro-- Stepdad (so I can tell what-I-did-for-Mother's-Day stories)
Current Combat Spanish acquisitions, gleaned from the amused mostly-Spanish-Speaking patient:
Huesos-- joints
Camello-- Camel (for the cat-camel stretch, of course)
Padrastro-- Stepdad (so I can tell what-I-did-for-Mother's-Day stories)
the minimal effective dose of nagging
Mar. 24th, 2008 07:50 amIn my orthopedic internship, my instructor Did. Not. correct people's form. She just didn't bother. I think she was wrong about that; I've noticed that people get much better results from exercise when they do it the right way.
Unfortunately, if I tell someone to do a calf stretch (for example), and I demonstrate it, 90% of the time they do it the wrong way (that will not help them). If I then correct their form, I sound like a nag; they feel like they did it wrong; I lose rapport with the patient and they feel unsuccessful.
So, I need to figure out how to teach common exercises in a way that DOES make people successful at them, and does NOT come across as constant nagging about form. Arg.
Unfortunately, if I tell someone to do a calf stretch (for example), and I demonstrate it, 90% of the time they do it the wrong way (that will not help them). If I then correct their form, I sound like a nag; they feel like they did it wrong; I lose rapport with the patient and they feel unsuccessful.
So, I need to figure out how to teach common exercises in a way that DOES make people successful at them, and does NOT come across as constant nagging about form. Arg.
Dear patients...
Mar. 19th, 2008 02:38 pmDear patients,
I've heard your collective complaints about waiting for doctors appointments, and I've heard how much you hate it when your doctor makes you wait for an hour before s/he sees you for the nationwide average of eight minutes of face time per visit.
Believe me, waiting like that irritates me too. So I try to be on time for you, my beloved patients. I allocate thirty minutes of uninterrupted face time for each and every one of you, in fact.
So, I would appreciate it muchly if you did not show up fifteen minutes late, halfway through "your" thirty minutes. When you do, I can either treat you for fifteen minutes (which is a waste of your driving time to get here and your insurance-mandated $30 copay) or I can back up everyone else behind you, and treat each and every subsequent patient fifteen minutes late.
Or-- wait, there's a third option. I can put you on the stationary bike for fifteen unsupervised minutes and bill your insurance company for "aerobic conditioning", the cost of which will eventually be returned to you in higher premiums (if you pay for your own) or lower wages (if your employer pays for your insurance). And believe me, none of us wants that.
Please be on time.
Con mucho amor,
Your biligual, pain-relieving, knee-unlocking, butt-kicking, insurance-billing physical therapist
I've heard your collective complaints about waiting for doctors appointments, and I've heard how much you hate it when your doctor makes you wait for an hour before s/he sees you for the nationwide average of eight minutes of face time per visit.
Believe me, waiting like that irritates me too. So I try to be on time for you, my beloved patients. I allocate thirty minutes of uninterrupted face time for each and every one of you, in fact.
So, I would appreciate it muchly if you did not show up fifteen minutes late, halfway through "your" thirty minutes. When you do, I can either treat you for fifteen minutes (which is a waste of your driving time to get here and your insurance-mandated $30 copay) or I can back up everyone else behind you, and treat each and every subsequent patient fifteen minutes late.
Or-- wait, there's a third option. I can put you on the stationary bike for fifteen unsupervised minutes and bill your insurance company for "aerobic conditioning", the cost of which will eventually be returned to you in higher premiums (if you pay for your own) or lower wages (if your employer pays for your insurance). And believe me, none of us wants that.
Please be on time.
Con mucho amor,
Your biligual, pain-relieving, knee-unlocking, butt-kicking, insurance-billing physical therapist
things to remember
Jan. 16th, 2008 09:06 pm... in Spanish, "desculpe" means "sorry, I didn't hear you". "Esculpe" means "spit". Hmm, I probably ought not to confuse these.
Okay, let's say you work with people whose first language is Farsi. This has implications for how charts are filed, as you'll see.
Not only do many of my co-workers speak Farsi as a first language (so they won't be filing Mc and Mac like English speakers do), their first language does not involve Roman characters (which leads to generalized filing entertainment). I get that the Farsi surnames for patients don't necessarily have One True English Equivalent.
But wait-- It's worse than that. Arabic is written from right to left. Accordingly, my Persian co-workers file the English-named charts from right to left, the way that makes sense to them. Unfortunately, for the native English speakers here, charts are still sensibly filed in alphabetical order from left to right.
Bottom line: It's a tiny slice of cultural madness. I shake my head, but also, I love it here. ;-)
Not only do many of my co-workers speak Farsi as a first language (so they won't be filing Mc and Mac like English speakers do), their first language does not involve Roman characters (which leads to generalized filing entertainment). I get that the Farsi surnames for patients don't necessarily have One True English Equivalent.
But wait-- It's worse than that. Arabic is written from right to left. Accordingly, my Persian co-workers file the English-named charts from right to left, the way that makes sense to them. Unfortunately, for the native English speakers here, charts are still sensibly filed in alphabetical order from left to right.
Bottom line: It's a tiny slice of cultural madness. I shake my head, but also, I love it here. ;-)
