It’s been very humid and hot in Tokyo.
I started conducting my preliminary fieldwork.
This week, I was allowed to observe 7 medical consultations and take notes. In each, a doctor, a nurse, a patient and the patient’s family were there. The doctor introduced me to the patients; it was an opportunity for the patients to understand who I am and what I am studying. I also had a great opportunity to meet several doctors who are likely to participate in my research. I am really grateful.
Initially, I had planned to observe two different kinds of settings. One is a physician home visit, and my observations during it have been going very well. The other one is care homes for older patients, which turned out to be a very different setting than I expected in terms of interactions between residents and professionals.
Some healthcare professionals gave me advice, suggesting I might need to focus on a physician home visit setting. Home visits are a type of social situation involving multiple people, such as a doctor, a nurse, a patient, and the patient’s family members, in most cases. In addition, doctors who are willing to visit patients’ homes are likely to be interested in practising patient-centred approaches.
My achievements in Week 32
- started networking with professionals and made observations in seven consultations
Goals for Week 33
- complete the translations of consent forms
- complete my field notes from the first observations
