Practice visit - as a patient

I went to see a very nice osteopath in Fulham who came recommended for his naturopathy skills and I thought I might be making a useful contact. However, I was double booked, the sink in the treatment room was dirty, the treatment and preamble were quite odd and he looked scruffy. He did use applied kinesiology though, which I have come across before and found rather interesting, even though it is subject to controversy. I didn't go back. Enough said. Important lesson though. First impressions count!

I have also done this previously with an osteopath in Ealing, who an ex colleague used to visit. He didn't manage to successfully HVT my neck, when I went in desperation with a facet lock, a relatively common problem for me. Admittedly, I only went because my chiropractor wasn't around that day. After a few attempts he announced that it didn't want to go and moved on to some soft tissue. This was so frustrating and a total waste of money. I vowed to really work on my C spine HVTs as a result!

Continuing to reflect on what I have learned from other practitioners, I had some reflexology lately with someone new. My regular therapist (in the days when I was working) was on maternity leave. It was terrible and I was so disappointed, as it was meant to be a well deserved treat. Her hands felt tense and inexperienced and her routine was not smooth and was quite uncomfortable. I would never go back to her. It reminded me of a massage I had in a similar situation a couple of years ago. I must make as much effort as I can to avoid ending up like this myself! This terrifies me more than anything - people not coming back because I wasn't any good. I can't even bear to think about it. How did I end up feeling like this?

Disappointment - what a waste of money

An integrated approach to the inter-connected tissues (LEX) (VF) 26th & 27th

I am devastated, I can't go to this course because I have to work on the dissertation. It can't be helped, I haven't been well lately. I am GUTTED. £90 and I can't sell the ticket. I've even tried to give it away, but everyone is in the same miserable boat!

Chi Kung for osteopaths / EMC / Manus reflection / Pilates

It was getting far too close to the dissertation deadline to be doing anything enjoyable, but I had booked this ages ago. It was ok, but I think I expected something totally different. I wasn't in the mood to pant heavily in my chair, then get up and jump up and down, but it was definitely invigorating! Despite being my age, I had to stifle childish laughter half the time and I felt like a nasty old cynic. I was in fact very interested, but the timing was all wrong - I really should have stayed at home with my life's work... I owe it to devotees of lymphatic drainage techniques everywhere.

Certificate of attendance - 1 day Chi kung course

EMC tutorial notes - Fantastic!

I am LOVING EMC. Our tutor is incredibly giving and her enthusiasm is inspirational. It is also a great opportunity to use the techniques from the obstetrics elective.


19/2 Manus reflection

I have managed to attend the Manus talks with Rupert Sheldrake and Averille Morgan this term. I appreciated what Averille was saying, but the presentation wasn't really my cup of tea. Rupert Sheldrake, however, blew me away with his morphic resonance theory. I will not be attempting to explain it here, but I am definitely going to buy his books. I am extremely susceptible to this sort of discussion, but I do find it fascinating and here was a scientist with what sounded like some hard evidence, which usually is what is lacking, Amazon, here I come.

Pilates

I have been attending a 6 weeks beginners course and I can really see what all the fuss is about. I definitely want to continue with this and would like to be able to teach some of it to patients one day.

Shoulder / Elbow

Annotated Diagrams; Technique and Clinical anatomy revision cards - Elbow

Annotated Diagrams; Technique and Clinical anatomy revision cards - GH, AC &SC

Annotated differentials textbook - Shoulder

Clinic reflection

I have had a few interesting situations in clinic since term began.

The most memorable being my worst patient encounter ever! I innocently approached a re-exam for a long term patient by starting with a completely new history. The lady was booked in for the assessment by my colleague who was unexpectedly unable to take her at the last minute. It transpired that she did not want this to be happening at all and did not want to answer any questions! She felt let down historically by the medical profession and undeniably had suffered some unfortunate side effects of medical treatment and it became obvious early on that there were yellow flag issues and she hadn't really been taken care of properly. She was extremely hostile and aggressive in her manner and I initially tried to call a halt after about ten minutes. We decided to carry on, but again, after another twenty minutes I stopped taking the history for good this time. I had been on the receiving end of this womans' rage and frustration for too long and she was crying now anyway. A failure of reflective listening! I calmed things down and brought in a tutor who decided we would treat conservatively and worry about the re exam later. I was glad when she left and I referred her back to my colleague, having fully debriefed him!

This is the only time I have really struggled with patient empathy. During the encounter I just found it unbelievable that someone would behave like that and not offer an apology. I felt like an emotional punchbag. I was very disturbed by this encounter and although I can be objective and have some sympathy for the state she has ended up in, I am left with a residual feeling of disgust. I need to work on being prepared for other situations like this so that they do not affect me personally. I should have no residual feeling about this encounter. I feel that I wasn't detached enough. However, it is of slight amusement to me that during a calmer dialogue when she genuinely opened up, I had asked her about her support network (she didn't have one) and suggested that maybe talking these issues through with a professional would be beneficial, only to be BELLOWED at again. The sound of her shouting at me that, "talking about it all was the problem," is still ringing in my ears. I am scarred for life!

The tragic emasculation of british osteopathy (MW)

4/2 Mervyn Waldman course

A whole day of inspiration. I must get hold of the slides. Lymphatic pumping techniques demonstrated live! (Relevant to my dissertation). Amongst other things...

The presentation was based on Stills' two fundamental premises of disease:

1. There is often a somatic component to disease
2. Effective manual treatment of the somatic component, may play a significant role in enhancing immune response and recovery from disease

It was an incredibly interesting approach and right up my street. This couldn't have come at a better time - I am really flagging and feared my enthusiasm was lost forever!

Paper recommended by Mervyn Waldman - very exciting!

3/2 Such an inspirational Manus talk by Mervyn Waldman that I immediately enrolled on his one day course tomorrow!