When I first got to Mercer, literally one of our first sessions during orientation involved the use of people first language. In short, this basically means that, out of respect, you shouldn't call your patient "your 3 pm shoulder", but rather, should refer to them as, "your patient with shoulder pain (or whatever condition) that has a 3 pm appointment." Taking it further, for example, you shouldn't say "the blind man", but rather, "the man who is vision impaired." It may seem like a subtle difference to some, but I do think it is an important difference. We as people should not be defined by our conditions, our weaknesses, what's wrong with us. People first language gives dignity and respect to your patients. It treats them like people - not diagnoses. And this is why I certainly support it, especially as someone with a chronic disease.
So imagine my disdain when I literally hear my professor last week correcting someone about a patient with (x) condition. "It's a patient with (condition),", not your (condition) patient," she corrected one of my classmates.
20 minutes later we are concluding class, and the topic of diabetes comes up. I give some diabetic blood glucose ranges to the class and our professor apparently remembers something she wants to show us. It's the last 10 minutes of class. She pulls up a video. It's the "diabetes rap", if you've never seen it. I actually hadn't, but I had certainly seen the memes of a white mustached man stating "Diabeetus" for the world to ridicule.
This video is funny for like.... the first 30 seconds. I'll give it that. I chuckled a little in class. But by the time we hit minute 3, I start to get really frustrated. Why is it that it's okay for a program that teaches people first language since literally day one to literally mock an illness that kills hundreds of thousands every year? It may not be that serious day to day for people like me. Some days can be totally normal. You'd look at me and never know I have a life threatening illness. But diabetes is life threatening. Diabetes changed my whole life. I've heard stories of people going to sleep and never waking up from lows. There's an American Idol contestant or winner (can't remember) that lived on the streets and couldn't outright afford her insulin for years. People spend more money on insulin than mortgages sometimes...Kids cry over this condition. Kids have eating disorders because of this condition. They are different than their friends because of this condition. Moms worry if their diabetic children will be ok during simple sleepovers because of this condition. I cried three weeks ago because the pharmacy tech essentially mocked the insulin prices I have to pay regardless of whether I want to. I deliberately don't give myself shots in my arm because I'll bruise and bleed there every time if I do, and the fact that I know that (which is sad) is because of this disease.
Whether I like it or not, diabetes has shaped a part of me. But it doesn't define me. And I'm proud of all I have had to do to fight to survive. I fight every day to survive. Every time I prick myself with another needle, I'm telling myself I want to survive. Not everyone can be that strong. And when all of that hardship mixed with triumph in trying to overcome this gets trivialized in a moment to people laughing at videos like these... well, it kind of hurts. It hurts a lot. I don't appreciate it when people decide to define what they think diabetes is on their own and it ends up turning out really derogatory towards people that never did anything to get the disease.
So that is why I started to take some offense to this situation. I don't find it appropriate for someone in a professional position that is not only teaching me but corrected someone that same day on people first language to show a video mocking Diabetes. If my friends do it, that's one thing. If I do it, that's my prerogative. I can deal with some humour. But I get frustrated at the fact that Diabetes consistently appears to be the ONE exception to the rule that it's not actually socially acceptable to make fun of medical conditions. Please don't trivialize such a serious condition in this manner, especially if you are in a professional academia setting... it erodes all of your credibility with me. I hope someday this mindset towards Diabetes changes, because in the meantime, people like me are stuck with a disease that can kill you and drastically reduce your quality of life, but it's okay to make fun of it.
That's all for this evening. End rant.
No comments:
Post a Comment