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Has anyone ever disclosed to a patient?

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    Has anyone ever disclosed to a patient?

    So I got an RN job a couple months ago doing home care. Mostly I have been doing opening assessments, but I do get to case manage some patients.

    It's not uncommon for my agency to have MS patients and I have been assigned a few visits to an MS'er recently. I am not seriously considering telling any patients, especially ones I am just seeing short term. However, if I do get an MS'er as a case I'm probably going to be tempted...

    My question is has any health care professionals disclosed their dx to a patient? If so, why and what was the outcome?

    #2
    I am not an RN nor a doctor, but a few years back I was seeing a neurologist in a MS Clinic who was very open about disclosing to her patients that she also had MS. I liked her immediately - not necessarily because she had MS, but because of her complete understanding of what daily living can be like. She was very informed about treatments options, symptoms and kept up to date on new research. Had a wonderful "bedside manner" to boot!
    1st sx '89 Dx '99 w/RRMS - SP since 2010
    Administrator Message Boards/Moderator

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      #3
      I have cared for many patients with MS and never considered disclosing my condition.

      Personally I think that self-disclosure is a tricky animal no matter what the topic. It can quickly blur professional boundaries and my big concern is that it will take the focus off the patient and put it on you.

      In my experience verbalizing an understanding of the s/s and medication options seems to have been comforting to my patients without adding my personal experience.

      With MS, in particular, my course is likely irrelevant due to the many different presentations and outcomes. I have also been in markedly better shape than my patients so I worry that would make them feel bad.

      No sure answer I guess but I would urge health care professionals to carefully weigh the whole picture, and also your personal motivations, when considering self-disclosure about any topic.
      He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
      Anonymous

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        #4
        I am a medical professional and I have disclosed to just a few patients. I have found it to be helpful to the patient and an overall rewarding experience. It has only been a few select individuals when I get a sense of how scared they are or that they are feeling lost / hopeless. Gives them a little lift, actually.

        Now I wouldn't do it with everyone as it would be turn out to be very stressful I think.

        It's a very personal decision! From experience, however, can be very helpful and rewarding.
        Dx: 2001
        Currently on Tysabri since Dec 2010
        Feel lucky to be doing so well!

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          #5
          I have disclosed to 2 patients, one that was very concerned about me after I went on FMLA for 3 months during a flare, and one who had ms and was crying and very frustrated. Both patients I felt would benefit from knowing the truth, and it did help them both A LOT, however, I try not to disclose to many due to the fact that we are their caregivers and we shouldn't be viewed as "sick" or make them worry.

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            #6
            I am a nurse in a doctors office and when I come across parents that I speak to constantly because their child was just diagnosed with something uncut able and the parents have a difficult time accepting the diagnosis, I occasionally feel like if I share that I have MS, maybe they will feel better about having a forever diagnosis. Maybe they will know you can get through it? Just like I did. I have only had I'm sorry responses but they definitely feel better once I have shared with them I am human, and it didn't just happen to you.

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              #7
              The biggest problem I have with self-disclosure is that it essentially turns the conversation about you and not the patient.

              If you are able to hone your therapeutic communication skills there are other ways to instill hope and express empathy without discussing your personal business.
              He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
              Anonymous

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                #8
                MD

                Originally posted by als5445 View Post
                So I got an RN job a couple months ago doing home care. Mostly I have been doing opening assessments, but I do get to case manage some patients.

                It's not uncommon for my agency to have MS patients and I have been assigned a few visits to an MS'er recently. I am not seriously considering telling any patients, especially ones I am just seeing short term. However, if I do get an MS'er as a case I'm probably going to be tempted...

                My question is has any health care professionals disclosed their dx to a patient? If so, why and what was the outcome?
                I disclosed to my patients-all of them with a letter when I was first diagnosed. My first bout put me in a wheelchair so that I could not work for a couple of months until I got the disease under control. Disclosure was wonderful overall. I am a geriatrician and now can relate with a number of problems that the aged deal with. Plus my patients see me as a human. One who has to struggle with many issues just as they do. Empathy in medicine is a helpful thing.

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                  #9
                  Someone has disclosed their condition to me once. It was a study coordinator in a clinical trial I was in. It seemed she wanted to talk about herself & what she said was uneducated & ridiculous. She left me thinking does she really have ms because she was so wrong. It left me disgusted.

                  I say yes, you can share if you think it might help, but don't turn the conversation solely about yourself & don't say anything stupid. LOL
                  MS dx's 2000
                  Tysabrian

                  ¤ fate is not just who's cooking smells good, but which way the wind blows ¤

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                    #10
                    It depends on the situation

                    I am an LPN in a doctors office, and specialize in Pediatric Gastroenterology. I give test results to parents that their children have Crohn's disease or Ulcerative Colitis. The parents are immediately overwhelmed and have tons of questions.. I try to keep my personal medical background info to myself at work, but you occasionally get those parents who call all the time, are nothing but worried for their children who are going through soo much all of a sudden.. I can relate to them in soo many ways..

                    I don't remember how many times I have told people I have had MS for 5 years but its not many, maybe 3. But the 3 that know were going through something we once went through. I felt like me relating to them in that way, gave them some hope that I was also in that horrible, why me, I can't get through this, I would rather die, moments.. Only for me to explain to them that in a few months, things will be different. They will understand things, they will be on a treatment, and feel much better very soon. We go into what a flare is, again, I can also relate. And it just builds a bond between myself and the parent.

                    Going forth, when I see the parents in person or talk to them on the phone, they ask me how I am feeling and doing.. I think that me sharing my experience with them somehow gives them some comfort knowing they can get through this. When a 4 year old or a 15 year old is first diagnosed they feel alone and the parents can benefit from all the information they can handle…..

                    ** Moderator's note - Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print. **

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