| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
HANOI: Vietnam's cancer hospitals are hoping to have full time social workers in the near future, and much of this desire stems from the ongoing training that Singapore medical social workers are providing for doctors and nurses at the National K Hospitals in Vietnam.
Spearheaded by the Singapore International Foundation, the training is aimed at developing programmes and tools that will meet the psychosocial needs of terminally-ill patients and their families.
Since February 2008, the training has been underway and its target objective is to improve hospitals' programmes in palliative care and "helping people die a good death".
In many hospitals, there are no social workers to listen and to talk to caregivers and families of the terminally-ill, and often, Vietnamese doctors and nurses are expected to play dual roles of being both the medical professional and counsellor.
But the programme is paving the way for doctors and nurses in Vietnam to develop psycho-social communication skills.
"The Vietnamese people just keep emotions (to themselves)... even we medical staff because sometimes we think if we talk, we bother other people," said Nguyen Phi Yen, vice chief of the department of Palliative Care & Pain Management at National K2 Cancer Hospital.
"But now we try to explore emotions... even for us medical staff, doctor and nurses. And after that, we try to explore emotions for patients and patients' families."
Training sessions are aimed at equipping doctors and nurses with tools for therapeutic counselling.
Through the use of simple Vietnamese arts and crafts, the medical staff will try to build the bond between a patient and his or her family.
More importantly, the medical workers help terminally-ill patients and their families come to terms with the reality of cancer.
- CNA/yb
|
