People who know me can probably imagine my reaction to being told this quite recently! Particularly when the speaker was a young upstart of a nurse, who can't have even been born when I did my nurse-training.
There used to be, in the bookcase at home, a volume entitled 'Meetings Between Experts'. Although a textbook used in Medical Education, and way beyond me, I was captivated by the title. The 'Experts' referred-to are, on the one hand, the doctor ...and, on the other, the patient. And is this not a very important point? We are all experts on our-selves! Of course the Health Professionals are each experts in their own fields (and quite often just in the theory thereof), but we know how we feel, how we are affected by things, our own hopes and fears, and - to a greater or lesser extent - our own limitations and boundaries. Because of this, we can have confidence in our 'expertise'...but we should also take more responsibility for our own health, and be prepared to face any consequences of the choices we make.
I have been taking risks right from the start. That sounds very 'gung-ho', doesn't it? I can't pretend that it's the wisest behaviour; some of the risks have paid-off and some haven't. Some of the things I have done have been downright foolish! Yet I maintain that without taking the occasional risk, I would not have made the 'progress' (such as it is), that I have made.
My point is that we should all be 'allowed' to take risky decisions if we want to - provided that we also take responsibility for those decisions. And it shows some maturity (and confidence) on the part of the Health Professional who will, from time to time, be content to 'bite his (her) tongue and see what happens'...
It's time for me to climb down off my soap-box, I think ...
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