Above All: DO NO HARM! by Jay Rau
by
slbts
—
last modified
Aug 11, 2009 11:38 AM
Physicians, nurses and everybody in the medical field swear to the Hippocratic Oath to ethically practice medicine. Certified alcohol and drug counselors are no different and are held to this same traditional oath: above all do no harm. We too are in the field of saving lives. We too have a responsibility to do what is best for the patient.
Even though I do have my certification to be a counselor, I don’t work on the clinical side of recovery. I work on the operations side; the disciplinary side of recovery. But I still find it necessary as well as rewarding to practice my oath. Even in the worst type of situation where a patient is under the influence and very angry, I find it beneficial to remember those five simple words that I learned in school. ABOVE ALL DO NO HARM. I believe that everyone working in this field certified or not should abide to this simple oath.
No matter what our job description is, if we come in contact with patients in recovery we must always remember to do no harm. One wrong action may do harm. One wrong look could cause harm. One wrong word could be devastating to someone new and vulnerable in sobriety.
So how do we do this? How do we set our sights on such a tall order as the Hippocratic Oath of Above All (no matter what) Do No Harm (cause no pain or turmoil)? Now listen real close:
LOVE THEM!
Good, bad or indifferent: love them. Remember that most of us were just like the patients were treating at one time or another. If we center ourselves and see, listen and speak through our hearts we will do no harm. Know that if a patient is angry at the core of anger is fear. Sobriety is a scary world at first. Remember the fear you once had. Understand them and validate their feelings. When a patient comes storming in and expresses their anger I sit down and tell that that I understand and I would be upset too. Just showing a little love and empathy will diffuse the situation and cause no harm.
Butting heads with patients is not good customer service. We don’t want patients going home and telling others that any of our staff were not polite, caring or helpful. We would rather have former patients telling others that no matter how difficult they were we never gave up on them or stopped loving them. That would be the best word-to-mouth advertising we could wish for and customer satisfaction at its best. It is the true meaning of above all do no harm.
- Jay Rau, CAS
Jay Rau is a Certified Addictions Specialist (CAS) who loves working with the clients at our rehab center in Newport Beach. Jay facilitates lectures and specialize in criminal thinking errors and positive thinking techniques.
