“Do No Harm” Isn’t Just About COVID-19
This is the first in a series of blog posts that will be coupled with live Instagram sessions (@jenndurkinlmt) where my clients and I can sit and virtually discuss these topics over coffee. (Well…I’m going to have coffee. You are welcome to enjoy the beverage of your choice.) Each blog will be a primer on topics related to changes I am making to my practice as I prepare to reopen. I want you to know what’s what and why I’m choosing to make these changes. So, come have coffee with your massage therapist! This Instagram Live session will be Tuesday, June 23rd at 2:00pm EST.
Did you know that it’s not just physicians who follow the spirit of the Hippocratic Oath commonly summarized as “do no harm”? A number of health professionals have also adopted this mantra, including massage therapists. It’s a good one. I don’t argue that doing “no harm” is, in fact, a good thing. But, I’ve always had a problem with the phrase. It’s so…passive. Why can’t it be a phrase of action? Like “do all the good you can”?
The reason this matters to me so much right now…
is a product of the current COVID-19 pandemic. No surprise there. As I mentioned a few days ago, most of the protocols are mandatory and some are recommended best practices. There’s been some confusion about this, so many have asked which one’s I will be adopting.
Just about all of them.
(The one that’s “hard” is the mandatory social distancing. Massage therapy doesn’t social distance well. Hence, the need to consider all protocols.)
What kind of things will there be? Things like:
masks for clients/me at all times (mandatory),
glasses or goggles for me (mandatory),
gloves for me (mandatory),
smock/clothing changes for me between clients (mandatory)
upgraded cleaning materials and protocols (mix of mandatory and recommended protocols),
illness screenings for clients/me before sessions (mandatory),
less germ collecting office clutter (mix of mandatory and recommended),
increased closed storage (versus open shelving) (standing requirement…I just need more),
improved ventilation (recommended),
contactless intake forms and payments (recommended),
documentation of all infection prevention protocols taken for each client (mandatory),
and more!
Why am I choosing to take on even those protocols that aren’t mandatory? Massage therapy happens in close proximity for an extended period of time: typically, 30 - 120 minutes in my practice. Per the CDC, these conditions are ripe for COVID-19 transmission. So I need to take precautions. And honestly? These aren’t unreasonable. They’re not. In fact, they can only enhance the high standard of practice I already aspire to. It’s that simple. I am doing all the good I can do.
If these recommendations are so good, why didn’t you do them before?
Excellent question! And I’m going to answer it with a super (likely unexpected) analogy to pregnancy! (I know. Y’all come here for the show first, education second. It’s okay.) Wanna know what’s super annoying about pregnancy? All the media out there pressuring folks on how to get their “pre-pregnancy body back”. Know why that’s annoying? Because it cannot happen. Can’t. It’s biology. There are some changes that are permanent. Example: as a result of pregnancy and natural childbirth, the human pelvis bones expand in preparation for delivery beyond the point where the ligaments can retain the elasticity to pull them back to where they were before pregnancy. As a result, the pelvis BONES typically sit wider after delivery so the hips are wider. No amount of cardio is going to change that. Is this a gross oversimplification? Perhaps. But you get my point. The human body changes after pregnancy. And it’s supposed to. It’s by design. The human body is very smart and good at what it does. It adapts through circumstance.
COVID-19 is our pregnancy. We can’t go back to pre-COVID. This is not a statement made in fear. This is a statement that acknowledges that once experience has been gained or circumstances arise, one cannot unknow it. One can ignore it, I suppose. Or one can learn, accept and adapt in a meaningful and productive way. The amount of knowledge coming out from the pandemic on all sorts of really neat and important topics like viruses and infection rates and Zoom etiquette and causes of stroke and psychology of isolation and why Jenn won’t watch Tiger King and remote learning and so, so, so much more. We are coming out of this changed.
And change can be good. Scary, daunting, uncomfortable, sure. Utill it’s not. Until it’s good.
Bonus? It goes beyond COVID-19.
Illness happens. This one is called COVID-19. It could have been called JENN-73. (I’ve been around a long time.) Then we’d all be talking about how to prevent and reduce incidences of JENN-73 and “get back to our lives” no thanks to JENN-73. It doesn’t matter what it’s called and it doesn’t matter that some day there will be a treatment and vaccine and this pandemic will be a thing of the past. I’m an optimist. But there are and will be other infections. Other illness. Other sickness. Again, this is not a statement made in fear. It’s reality.
Wanna know what’s cool? (Instant Pot sourdough starter?) No. What’s cool is that these protocols help reduce all sorts of bacteria and virus spread. WOO. HOO. All these precautions we’re taking right now? They work. Flu is down. Did you know that? Cool, right? And this is super important to someone like me because I’ve learned over the past 3 months just how many people are immunocompromised or high risk. It’s way more than I thought. Some are my clients. Some are my friends. Some are my family. Some are me. (I knew about that last one. I’m not that out of touch.) Stepping up my infection prevention protocols actually enables my practice to be more inclusive to those who are compromised.
Wait. Does this mean I’ll keep these protocols forever? Honestly, I have no idea. I really don’t. It’s been easier (for me) to think of this as being a “new business model” instead of “doing this for COVID”. So I’m not sure just yet. But I’m letting that idea ferment. Is that surprising? Perhaps. But I’ve been learning from some really smart people over the past few months. Like Cal Cates from Healwell. Healwell teaches massage therapists how to work safely in the hospital, hospice and oncology treatment settings. Those massage therapists have been masked, gloved and gowned from day 1. They have to be. And Cal made a good point during a PPE/COVID safety webinar they offered recently saying, “the ABMP guidelines and many of the other guidelines that have been released say to wear gloves, to wear a mask when practical. Infection control is always practical.”
And infection control IS always practical. Yes, it’s true that in my type of practice during “normal”, non-pandemic, times these types of protocols are considered optional and even excessive. And maybe it is. (Sounds like I’m gonna talk more on that, eh? Foreshadowing!) But it’s good to consider the options and weigh them. Some will stick…some won’t. Up until a few years ago, massage therapists in Massachusetts were required to be CPR and First Aid Certified. Not any more. But I still get it renewed like clock work.
Because I’m going to do all the good I can do. And these new protocols do no harm.
Just a reminder that I’ll be going live on Instagram (@jenndurkinlmt) Tuesday, June 23rd at 2:00pm to chat about this and continuing this series with a post and live session every few days for you, my clients to learn more about my reopening plan. For those keeping track, it’s been 101 days since I last saw clients. I miss you.
