Our very own spotangel currently has a great article, titled "I Feel Dizzy", which is about her providing excellent medical services to a hearing/speech impaired patient. Her article had me recalling my history of working with that population.
For about the first 2 1/2 years of my nursing career, from 1984-86, I worked as an LPN in a brand new 19 bed psych unit at Weed Rover Township Hospital. There were three recidivistic hearing impaired patients I got to know and I thought how cool it would be to be able to communicate with them in a method less encumbering then writing notes back and forth.
So, I took an American Sign Language (ASL or Ameslan) course at my local Larry & Curly Community College and learned the basics. For the remainder of my nursing career, I used sign language several times over the years, the last few being at Wrongway Regional Medical Center, in the past couple of years.
Just knowing how to fingerspell was enough if I didn't know the specific sign for something, but knowing some signs related to the medical profession really came in handy.
So, in my own hodgepodge Davey Do way, I'm starting a thread on nursing & sign language.
Please! Feel free to share any stories, information, or thoughts on working with this population!
