February 13, 2011
Seven Springs… A horse drawn sleigh ride… There is something very spiritual about riding through falling snow deep into the woods. And it can almost seem as if you’re floating right into the horizon…
Questions about health and health care can be like that… They go beyond the focus on illness or disease. They often go to the horizon of working in health care… Nurses working with doctors… “What’s that like?” And doctors talking to patients.
Have you ever thought about what it would be like yourself to be a doctor? Imagine asking a doctor, “Does talking to patients make you nervous?” What about asking patients, “Do you have trouble making ends meet?” Or, “Do you need financial help?”
In each of these cases, the way the question gets asked makes it hard to imagine that anyone could answer them honestly…
Why would anyone become a doctor if he or she gets nervous thinking about talking to patients? Perhaps that isn’t the best way to think about it. Why wouldn’t anyone get nervous at the thought of talking to someone about something so important and so personal as their health?
If you were a doctor, how would you go about talking to your patients in ways that respect their religious beliefs? What about breaking bad news, like a cancer diagnosis–wouldn’t that make you nervous? Every conversation is a little bit like going forth into a snowstorm…counting on someone to guide the way but preparing to make the most of the trip…
My original negative face question was “Do you think it is possible to incorporate the recommended amount of whole grains into your daily diet?” I would revise this in a similar way as I did with my positive face question. I would present the research of individuals maintaining the change of incorporating whole grains once introduced and educated, and at the end ask the patient if they have any questions. I think that the key to this technique is to present the information and show how easy the change is to incorporate into any lifestyle, and its benefits.
My topic is communicating the importance of consuming whole grains. My positive face question was “How many whole grains do you eat daily?” I think a better way of asking This question would be, “Do you know the recommended daily serving of whole grains?” Then I would introduce the statistics that 93% of American’s consume the recommended daily amount of whole grains. This will encourage the participant to incorporate the appropriate amount of whole grains into his or her diet.
Initially, my negative face question was, “How can you fit more exercise into your schedule?” A child may not be willing to give up such activities as TV, computer, video games, sleeping, etc. They might even not fully comprehend the idea of time management. I would present different ways in which the child could receive proper physical activity. Suggest easy and fun exercises that the child may like and could do with their friends in case they are stubborn and really against the idea of physical activity. Promoting the child to get their parents to complete various exercises or tasks could be not only healthy for the child’s physical health, but also building a relationship with their parents and presenting a “team” like atmosphere where they feel like they aren’t alone in the process.
The topic I chose to cover is speaking to children about the importance of their physical activity. Finding out how much physical activity children are getting in the first place is very important, so asking the question, “How often do you exercise each week?” A younger child may not fully be aware of what all exactly physical activity entitles. A better way to present the question to children could be, “How often do you play to the point where you begin to get out of breath or become tired or even sweat?” This slight adjustment of wording allows a better picture to be painted to the child. Therefore, more likely to receive a better answer.
My original negative face question was “can you change your eating habits?” I would revise this in a similar way as I did with my positive face question. I would present the dietary guidelines, explain better exercise habits, and at the end ask the patient if they have any questions. I think that the key to this technique is to present all information and let the patient be the one to ask the most questions.
My topic is diet communication, and my original positive face question was “why do you choose to eat the way that you do?” I believe that a more appropriate question is “do you think you can choose to eat a variety of foods?” as I present the U.S. dietary guidelines. This will encourage the patient to be proactive in his/her own lifestyle and add/subtract foods where it is necessary.
My original negative face question that I came up with went along the lines of say “How your raising your child isn’t right, you need to change.” This question is very face threatening, to say that what your doing isn’t right i think would be handled by the parent getting defensive and not following the right steps to correct this problem because of that command.
A better way of saying basically the same thing would be to say something like “There are some little things that you can do to better your communication with your child about substance abuse.” its not really making a demand but just throwing out there that there are things that can be done without saying or demanding that they be done.
My topic I was concerning myself with was the relationship between parent-child communication and substance abuse. My positive face question was something like “Do you communicate well with your child?” I think a better way to ask this question would be to say something like “What is communication between you and your child like?”
My original negative face question to say to female college students about tanning in tanning beds was “You need to stop tanning”. Which would probably be very ineffective. As Professor Parrott said in a later entry, saying something like “if you keep tanning your skin is going to look like a piece of leather” is also another negative face that is overly negative face threatening.
I think a happy medium would be to use a personal example of my life. My two good friends still continue to tan after one of them was diagnosed with melanoma herself, and the other’s mother was diagnosed with melanoma. I see how addictive tanning can be, I used to tan myself before hearing time and time again just how much it can increase your likelihood of getting skin cancer. In case that is too much information too soon, I could say something like “Are you aware that there are plenty of sunless tanning options, such as spray tans, that cause zero skin damage?” That gives them a chance to realize that there are other, safer options if they NEED to be tan that bad.
My topic is Communicating to College Females About the Dangers of Tanning Beds. My original positive face question was “Why is it so important to you to tan?”. That definitely is a very critical question. Slightly changing the question to “How does tanning make you feel better about yourself?” will hopefully increase the chance of getting an honest answer, rather them getting defensive with a more harsh question.
As far as negative face threatening advice, my original advice was just to say “You need to increase your food intake”. However, I think less negative face threatening advice would be “I have found, even in my own life, that speaking to a nutritionist to be very helpful in maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle. They can help you figure out a meal plan that you are comfortable with as well as show you how exercise can help you to remain fit throughout your life”. I think this would be more effective because it offers helpful advice as well as an assurance that they will still be able to be fit and thin, even with an increase in their caloric intake, which is a big concern for those suffering from eating problems.
My topic is concerned with talking to young women about eating disorders. My original positive face threatening question was just asking flat out “Do you have an eating disorder?”. I think a better way of asking this, in order to preserve positive face, would be to ask “Many young women your age have concerns about their body image, do you have any questions or concerns?”. I think this less direct approach allows the person to hear that it is common to have these types of thoughts and that they are not alone. It also allows them to bring up their own concerns about their eating habits rather than being confronted and becoming defensive.
To revise my original negative face question about speaking to young children about cancer diagnosis I would have a medical professional ask “Have you spoken to your family and loved ones about communicating with the family member who has cancer and learning more about the disease?”
This question is softened up a bit because it allows the recipient of the question to be considered a part of a group not alone.
For my positive face question I have revised it to sound like this: “Has anyone in your extended family been faced with dealing with cancer?” This is a small step up from a medical professional asking “Does your family have any history of cancer?”
I still do not completely understand the positive face wants/needs but hopefully I’m on the right track.