Walking A Mile in My Patient’s Shoes

As I type out this editorial and revise this issue of 360 (left-handed, attempting to get my speech recognition software to produce something resembling what I’ve just said), I have had plenty of time to reflect on what it is like to ‘walk a mile in my patient’s shoes’, being, as I am, in the process of recovery from orthopaedic surgery myself. This gives me a reasonable moment to pause and reflect on the advice I have given patients in the past about expectations following shoulder surgery. Sure, I’ve remembered to tell them it’s very painful (not my experience), to sit up in bed to sleep for comfort (I’ve found it easier lying down), and that putting a loose jumper over the sling with a chest strap is the best thing to do (not if you want to …