The AMEN (Affirm, Meet, Educate, No matter what) protocol, a script that can be used by medical staff, offers a way to negotiate these challenging conversations to affirm or acknowledge a patient’s hope, share the patient’s wish with others, continue to educate the patient and family about medical issues, and assure them that their health care team will remain with them throughout the duration of their care, “no matter what.”
The team developing the tool recognised that in the face of severe trauma, a large proportion of people turn to their belief in miracles. They also recognised the difficulty this may present for clinicians, who may feel that they have a better idea of the ‘reality’ of the patient’s prognosis. The authors emphasised the vital importance of clinicians accompanying people on this journey, rather than simply dismissing these beliefs.
Read more on the News Medical website.
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