Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Babrow, Austin S., and Dinn, David O. (2005) "Problematic discharge from physical
therapy: communicating about uncertainty and profound values. In Ray, E.B. (Ed.),
"Health Communication in Practice: A Case Study Approach. (pp. 27-38). Mahwah, NJ:
In this case study, a man named Charlie is having trouble dealing with his recent stroke.
Everyone around him, including him and his doctors are uncertain about his recovery. He ends
up needing physical therapy to help him to recover which is paid for my Medicare. Charlies
Physical Therapist, Connor, grows a strong relationship with Charlie and wants only the best for
him. After a few visits Connor starts to get frustrated because he assumes that Charlie is not
doing his at home exercises. Since Charlie is no longer improving, his sessions with Connor will
have to stop. Medicare will not pay for therapy unless improvement is seen and reported.
The Physical Therapist, Connor, leaves Charlie feeling uncertain at the end of their
session because he does not know how to communicate properly with him. Charlie feels like its
Connors fault for just leaving him hanging, and Connor feels like it is Charlies fault for not
doing his at home exercises. With lack of communication between the two this is a hard
situation.
I used this case study because it is a perfect situation showing how important
communication is. Especially when it comes to needing to recover from a stroke. The only way
Charlie will be able to recover is if he communicates his feelings towards his family members,
and if he tells Connor that he is unable to do the exercises he is given. Without communication
interpersonal contexts: Theories and applications (pp. 204225). New York, NY:
Routledge.
This study talks about all of the theories of uncertainty relating to illnesses. It also
examines the way relationships cope with uncertainty and when one partner is chronically ill.
Every one experiences uncertainty differently and this study analyzes that. In the study the
results show that there is in fact some difficulty when patients and partners experience
Chronical illness is a serious difficulty. Whether the patient is uncertain or the partner is
that everyone deals with situations like this differently, and everyone recovers differently. It also
shows that uncertainty exists with very complex and unpredictable situations.
I used this study because it analyzes exactly what is going on in the case study with
Charlie. Charlies wife, Meg, is left uncertain because Charlie stops trying to get better.
His situation left him uncertain because it was complex and unpredictable. There is no telling
how fully someone will recover when it comes to a stroke. Charlies wife, Meg, is left uncertain
This book talks about Buddhism, Yoga, and how to deal with anger. Handling anger is the
main point and it shows that there are many different ways to do so. Changing the way we handle
anger can change other aspects of ourselves. It can change the way we handle any type of
situation and hopefully for the better. Being able to control and handle anger shows a huge sign
of maturity. Being mature is important when it comes to relationships and life in general.
In Charlies case he does not know how to handle his anger. The book describes how
Buddhist ways affect psychology and psychology affects how people deal with things in life, like
anger. It explains that the idea of becoming mature is the same Buddhist idea of transforming
into a better person. The idea of being mature reflects back to how one handles tough situations.
I chose this book because it is a good example of a solution for Charlie and the way he
handles his situation. He has a lot of built up anger from unanswered questions and the feeling of
uncertainty from not only him, but everyone around him. Its important to have a positive
attitude and energy and to be mature when it comes to chronic disabilities and illnesses.