Ted Freeman and the Battle for the Injured Brain: A case history of professional prejudice

This book recounts some experiences of young Australians with catastrophic brain injuries, their families and the medical system which they encountered. Whilst most of the events described occurred two to three decades ago they raise questions relevant to contemporary medical practice. The patients...

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Auteur principal: McCullagh, Peter
Format: Online
Langue:anglais
Publié: ANU Press 2021
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Accès en ligne:459991
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author McCullagh, Peter
author_browse McCullagh, Peter
author_facet McCullagh, Peter
author_sort McCullagh, Peter
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description This book recounts some experiences of young Australians with catastrophic brain injuries, their families and the medical system which they encountered. Whilst most of the events described occurred two to three decades ago they raise questions relevant to contemporary medical practice. The patients whose stories are told were deemed to be ‘unsuitable for rehabilitation’ and their early placement in nursing homes was recommended. In 2013, it is time to acknowledge that the adage of ‘one size fits all’ has no place in rehabilitation in response to severe brain injury. Domiciliary rehabilitation, when practicable, may be optimal with the alternative of slow stream rehabilitation designed to facilitate re-entry into the community. Patients’ families were impelled to undertake heroic carers’ commitments as a reaction to nihilistic medical prognoses. It is time for the Australian health care system to acknowledge those commitments, and the budgetary burden which they lift from the system by providing family members with support to retrieve career opportunities, most notably in education and employment, which have been foregone in caring. Medical attendants repeatedly issued negative prognoses which were often confounded by the patient’s long term progress. Hopefully, those undertaking the acute care of young people with severe brain injury will strive to acquire an open mind and recognise that a prognosis based on a snapshot observation of the patient, without any longer term contact provides a flawed basis for a prognosis. The story of these patients and of Dr Ted Freeman has wider implications.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-281302025-07-21T15:58:22Z Ted Freeman and the Battle for the Injured Brain: A case history of professional prejudice McCullagh, Peter doctor-patient relations medical history Brain damage Business in the Community Coma Family (biology) Nursing home care Persistent vegetative state Theodore Freeman Traumatic brain injury thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDC Medical ethics and professional conduct thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDP Doctor / patient relationship thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MK Medical specialties, branches of medicine::MKJ Neurology and clinical neurophysiology thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDC Medical ethics and professional conduct thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDP Doctor / patient relationship thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MK Medical specialties, branches of medicine::MKJ Neurology and clinical neurophysiology This book recounts some experiences of young Australians with catastrophic brain injuries, their families and the medical system which they encountered. Whilst most of the events described occurred two to three decades ago they raise questions relevant to contemporary medical practice. The patients whose stories are told were deemed to be ‘unsuitable for rehabilitation’ and their early placement in nursing homes was recommended. In 2013, it is time to acknowledge that the adage of ‘one size fits all’ has no place in rehabilitation in response to severe brain injury. Domiciliary rehabilitation, when practicable, may be optimal with the alternative of slow stream rehabilitation designed to facilitate re-entry into the community. Patients’ families were impelled to undertake heroic carers’ commitments as a reaction to nihilistic medical prognoses. It is time for the Australian health care system to acknowledge those commitments, and the budgetary burden which they lift from the system by providing family members with support to retrieve career opportunities, most notably in education and employment, which have been foregone in caring. Medical attendants repeatedly issued negative prognoses which were often confounded by the patient’s long term progress. Hopefully, those undertaking the acute care of young people with severe brain injury will strive to acquire an open mind and recognise that a prognosis based on a snapshot observation of the patient, without any longer term contact provides a flawed basis for a prognosis. The story of these patients and of Dr Ted Freeman has wider implications. 2021-02-10T12:58:18Z 2013-11-21 00:00:00 2020-04-01T14:49:59Z 2013 book 459991 OCN: 849317095 http://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/33533 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/28130 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg n/a n/a n/a https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/33533/1/459991.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/33533/1/459991.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/33533/1/459991.pdf ANU Press 10.26530/OAPEN_459991 10.26530/OAPEN_459991 975ba519-3ce2-4517-95bf-b847729fbcf1 Canberra open access
spellingShingle doctor-patient relations
medical history
Brain damage
Business in the Community
Coma
Family (biology)
Nursing home care
Persistent vegetative state
Theodore Freeman
Traumatic brain injury
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDC Medical ethics and professional conduct
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDP Doctor / patient relationship
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MK Medical specialties, branches of medicine::MKJ Neurology and clinical neurophysiology
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDC Medical ethics and professional conduct
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDP Doctor / patient relationship
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MK Medical specialties, branches of medicine::MKJ Neurology and clinical neurophysiology
McCullagh, Peter
Ted Freeman and the Battle for the Injured Brain: A case history of professional prejudice
title Ted Freeman and the Battle for the Injured Brain: A case history of professional prejudice
title_full Ted Freeman and the Battle for the Injured Brain: A case history of professional prejudice
title_fullStr Ted Freeman and the Battle for the Injured Brain: A case history of professional prejudice
title_full_unstemmed Ted Freeman and the Battle for the Injured Brain: A case history of professional prejudice
title_short Ted Freeman and the Battle for the Injured Brain: A case history of professional prejudice
title_sort ted freeman and the battle for the injured brain a case history of professional prejudice
topic doctor-patient relations
medical history
Brain damage
Business in the Community
Coma
Family (biology)
Nursing home care
Persistent vegetative state
Theodore Freeman
Traumatic brain injury
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDC Medical ethics and professional conduct
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDP Doctor / patient relationship
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MK Medical specialties, branches of medicine::MKJ Neurology and clinical neurophysiology
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDC Medical ethics and professional conduct
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDP Doctor / patient relationship
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MK Medical specialties, branches of medicine::MKJ Neurology and clinical neurophysiology
topic_facet doctor-patient relations
medical history
Brain damage
Business in the Community
Coma
Family (biology)
Nursing home care
Persistent vegetative state
Theodore Freeman
Traumatic brain injury
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDC Medical ethics and professional conduct
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDP Doctor / patient relationship
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MK Medical specialties, branches of medicine::MKJ Neurology and clinical neurophysiology
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDC Medical ethics and professional conduct
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MB Medicine: general issues::MBD Medical profession::MBDP Doctor / patient relationship
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing::MK Medical specialties, branches of medicine::MKJ Neurology and clinical neurophysiology
url 459991
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