Present?...For me?

I’ve just completed my neuro placement on an acute neurology ward where I received several small gifts from patients families for the work I/we did with their loved ones. The gifts ranged from cards and chocolates to a necklace.

I discussed with other students on the prac how they felt about this situation. Was it appropriate/ inappropriate to accept the gifts? Did we really deserve them just for doing our job? The general consensus was that we probably didn’t deserve them but it was nice to receive acknowledgement for what we had done, and it was appropriate to accept these small gifts.

One thing however which really pleasantly surprised me was that one of the students received a present from a patients partner which was to acknowledge the efforts of the entire ward but the card was in fact addressed to the “student and rest of the team” (of course they used the students name!). I think sometimes we forget how much of an impact we have on these peoples lives, especially in the setting of acute stroke where huge functional gains can be made from effective physiotherapy treatment, and trust and relationships are formed between the patient and therapist.

It was as if this patient saw the physio as the most important part of the multi-disciplinary team for their condition and time in hospital. I think it’s a nice reminder of the value of physiotherapy and that we really can impact so heavily and positively on a patients life.

We should all feel proud to receive a gift for the time, heart and effort we put into improving the quality of life of others.