Robert Hurt - Connecting With Patients
Working Together One Day at a Time
Physical Therapy Aide Is Committed to Patient's Success
Among a skilled group of rehabilitation staff who are dedicated to their patients, Robert Hurt stands out. His unwavering commitment to Radius' patients has earned him their deep gratitude and garnered the respect of his colleagues.
Mr. Hurt says a distinct philosophy guides his work as a physical therapy aide who treats a range of patients, from individuals recovering from a stroke to patients on ventilators. "I treat each patient as if they are my only patient, and I really focus on them," he explains. "It takes some psychology, but if you tune in and find out what it will take to truly help a person, most of the time you'll catch it."
This approach, he says is especially important when he is working with an individual who faces a long rehabilitation with no promise of full recovery. "My first goal is to convince the patient that we are going to take it together, one day at a time," he says. "I can't promise things. But no matter how depressed or scared that person might be, as a general rule, after a few days they can see themselves getting better."
That was true of a young man who came to the hospital paralyzed from the waist down. "The physicians were unsure that he would ever regain movement in his legs," Mr. Hurt recalls. "But I told him what I tell every patient: I'll do everything I can to help you get to the highest level of functioning. If you do your part, then we have something to work with. People hear that, and they hopefully can feel that I mean it." The young man's rehabilitation, though challenging, was successful, and he was able to walk again.
"In this work, you need to use your head and your heart in order to imagine what the person must be going through," he says. "It's important that you make that connection."
Mr. Hurt has been called a "miracle man" because of his accomplishments in motivating and helping his patients." I love what I do," he says. "To have a job that you love in a hospital that you love-what more could you ask for?"
PUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION.
