{"id":7679,"date":"2018-03-14T07:39:36","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T06:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/?p=7679"},"modified":"2018-03-14T22:20:36","modified_gmt":"2018-03-14T21:20:36","slug":"introducing-the-bjsm-patient-voices-series-getting-your-patients-story-heard-by-the-wider-sem-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2018\/03\/14\/introducing-the-bjsm-patient-voices-series-getting-your-patients-story-heard-by-the-wider-sem-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing the BJSM \u201cPatient Voices\u201d series: getting your patient\u2019s story heard by the wider SEM community"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr Osman Ahmed @osmanhahmed<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

How many of us have treated a patient\/athlete and thought \u201cthat\u2019s one heck of a story they\u2019ve got\u201d? Quite a few of us, I expect. Throughout our working lives we encounter patients who have been through circumstances and situations that we can easily look too as a great learning example, both for ourselves and for our colleagues.<\/p>\n

Although Case Studies and Case Reports provide one window into the experiences of the individual, they fail to capture a very important aspect- the opinions <\/em><\/strong>and feelings <\/em><\/strong>of that person. Despite what our respective health systems lead us to believe at times, patients are not<\/u> numbers and are not homogenous; they are all distinct individuals, each with stories to tell about their care which we can learn from as clinicians.<\/p>\n

The movements of patient participation and participatory medicine1 <\/sup>have been helping to reinforce that each patient has a role to play in their own rehabilitation and recovery, and also in the research that is related to their condition. Embedding our patients and athletes in all of these processes more fully is of clear, mutual benefit, and for the SEM profession this is an emerging and invaluable area.<\/p>\n

BJSM \u201cPatient Voices\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In keeping with the BMJ\u2019s Patient Partnership strategy2<\/sup>, BJSM is delighted to announce the launch of the new \u201cPatient Voices\u201d series. Articles in this series will the platform for our patients and athletes to share their stories with the SEM community. The patient will be the sole author of the piece, in order to give them the empowerment that they deserve and to ensure that they can tell their story in the way that they<\/strong> want.<\/p>\n

Patient Voices articles will not attempt to educate clinicians on the specifics of the condition\/injury in question; rather they will allow the patient to explain how they felt during the process, to share any concerns that they have, and to give valuable take-home points for the clinicians reading their story.\u00a0 We hope that clinicians and readers of BJSM across the globe will be able to encourage patients and athletes that they treat to share their stories and submit them to the journal to help generate a better understanding of what our patients are experiencing.<\/p>\n

Embedding patients with research <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to the Patient Voices series, BJSM is taking other several steps to help fully embed patients into the research process:<\/p>\n