Oshya
on Shona in Sierra Leone (Sierra Leone), 04/Jun/2011 16:21, 34 days ago
People have been saying“Oshya” to me in the last few days as I’ve not been feeling too well. Oshya (sometimes shortened to “Osh”) is a Krio term to express your concern for someone, to say you’re sorry for them, for their illness, for their loss. I think it’s a really lovely word. It’s a word which just says it all, whatever the circumstance.I have unfortunately had to say it to many families who have lost a child. Breaking bad news is something that doctors get a lot of training on in the UK; thinking about setting, privacy, confidentiality, body language, empathy, among other things. Much of this training in communication skills stems from the fact that many complaints to the NHS in the UK are regarding problems with communication. But it’s also to do with being human.Breaking bad news is not really part of the culture here. I often find that the mothers are left purely guessing that their child has died when the doctors and nurses move away from their child to stop resuscitating. I also find that parents sometimes don’t seem to know why their child is in hospital. Many poor mothers get berated for doing something which they probably didn’t even know they were doing wrong. I’ve found this hard to understand because I’m so used to telling parents as much information as possible about their child’s illness and treatment. It’s also been proven that the more educated a mother is, the healthier her children will be.This lack of communication is something I’ve questioned and challenged, particularly with the medical students. How would they feel if that was their child? How would they want the doctor or nurse to speak to them? Even a simple “Oshya” goes a long way.I communicate with the mothers as much as my Krio will allow. Communication in a different language and culture can be very difficult; subtle nuances in language can often be lost in translation. Thankfully I always have a nurse and sometimes a student or two on the ward rounds; meaning they can educate the parents on my behalf. In fact, many of them are very good at it; explaining diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. I’ll never change the whole culture but I hope that those nurses and medical students might see the benefits of explaining things to parents and continue when I’ve gone.Thankfully I’ve started to feel better now. I’ve had ORS, chicken soup and plenty of rest. I even made it out to the tailor (more new clothes!) and the swimming pool today. However I know how grateful I was to hear that little bit of sympathy; that one short word: “Oshya”.