Microsoft Word - Copy Edit Metersky.docx IHTP, 2(3), 326-328, 2022 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 ISSN 2563-9269 IHTP 326 Person-Centred Care and Interprofessional Practice Through Me Kateryna Metersky1 1Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada, Corresponding author: K. Metersky (kateryna.metersky@ryerson.ca) ABSTRACT This poetic expression piece outlines and includes the key elements of person-centred and interprofessional care vital for healthcare providers to understand and apply in their care delivery and collaboration with patients. The author uses her first had experience with being a past recipient of care as well as her research work to share a perspective, from the patient’s point of view, of what is important for patients when seeking care from a humanistic perspective. KEYWORDS Care Recipient; Interprofessional Care; Person-Centred Care; Poetic Expression POETIC EXPRESSION I always wonder Do you as my healthcare providers see me – Individually and as a team? I do not mean literally see me Through your eyes. I mean do you see And understand the whole me? The person that I am? The me not through my signs and symptoms, Blood values or My condition, But the me as a mother, wife, nurse, professor, a global citizen? The me with my unique background, culture, language, and experiences? The me with a history, previous healthcare interactions, and health events? You each assess, question, and probe. You each expose, poke, and auscultate. You each palpate, insert, and test. You each draw-up, scan, and report. But do you collectively actually see me? The me with my own unique meaning of health, care preferences, thoughts, and opinions? The me with a voice and the desire to be more involved in my care? The me with the knowledge of self? The me that knows best what is the most ideal care plan for me? The me as a human being and not just as an object to be treated? You consult each other, discuss, and plan. You each follow care pathways, best practice guidelines, and protocols for care. You decide. You then inform me of the treatment plan that you collectively develop amongst yourselves – For me. You tell me this is the best option. You assure me that this is the path, That there is no other way. But do you collectively actually see me? Do you consider the me you collectively do not see? IHTP, 2(3), 326-328, 2022 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 ISSN 2563-9269 IHTP 327 The me you did not get to know? The social aspects of me? My unique social determinants of health, specific to me? The me that is worried the scar your suggested treatment will leave will become a new part of my identity? The me that will have to live with trying to conceal this revealing aspect of me. The me that is considering how the timing of the medications I need to take will change my family routine? The me that will have to transform how my family interacts with me? The me that is pondering how the ongoing monitoring will require consistent access to technology and put pressure and onus on me? The me that will have to deal with not living carefree? The me that is thinking how I will have to limit my social interactions due to conditions placed on my levels of activity? The me that will have to live in further social isolation? The me that is aware that I possess knowledge to be more involved in my care and want to share another perspective on your plan for me? The me that is vocal and opinionated about me? The aspects of me that make me ME? You each act like you listen, Genuinely care for me, But when interactions last mere minutes, How can you get to know the whole me? For there are unspoken aspects of me that you often do not get to hear In your individual and collective discovery. You each seem like you are looking at me, The eye contact is there, Your observations run deep, But what exactly do you see when you look at me? For my body language often conveys I need to develop trust to fully reveal the whole me. You seem like you feel me and at times I experience the warmth, But the emotional connection appears superficial to me. For I feel the power you each have over me, but it is this power that you need to share not only amongst yourselves, but with me before I can be fully me. In the back of my mind I know – It’s not you, it’s the system. Its how we educate each of you in silos; Its how we train you. It’s the exhaustion of the pandemic, of the ongoing ask, of the limited thanks, Of being short staffed, of being underpaid, Of not having the time to go to the bathroom, sleep, take a gulp or digest. The pressures you face, The responsibilities you are granted, The expectations are great, and the fatigue is a given, But it is my responsibility to share that there is a me that you need to collectively see. The me you need to learn to see can be a solution for you and me. The time you spend upfront to share with me will save the total time you spend as a team with me. When you get to know the whole me, the me feels valued and engaged, and you get the knowledge you need to treat me. You can then take care of me more effectively. When you develop treatment plans with me that work for me, my lifestyle and family, Together we can then enhance my adherence and goal achievability. When you empower me to be a self-care manager of my condition in the community, You minimize my readmissions, and decrease wait times for others in society. I always wonder – Do you as my healthcare providers understand The importance of seeing the real me? I do not mean literally understand, In your mind. I mean do you understand The impact of seeing me can have on you and me? When you actually see me collectively, the whole me becomes your possibility, For active partnering and person-centred care delivery. It’s the me you need to see, the me you need to include to collaborate successfully, To create a future for the healthcare system where interprofessionally, IHTP, 2(3), 326-328, 2022 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 ISSN 2563-9269 IHTP 328 The joining of you and me therapeutically Equates to exceptional healthcare delivery. REFERENCE (Reference were used to inform this poem on the concept of person-centred care) Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario. (2015). Person- and family-centred care. https://rnao.ca/sites/rnao- ca/files/FINAL_Web_Version_0.pdf