In a busy practice or in the midst of residency training, we often lack the time to really connect with our patients and what they are going through. One such example which is common in Podiatric Medicine and Surgery are patients who have undergone various levels of lower extremity amputation. With the increasing prevalence of diabetes and peripheral arterial disease, amputation patients are more and more commonplace in our health care system. Yet, there is very little attention paid to the intense need of these patients for peer support while they undergo the various phases of physical and emotional healing post amputation.

As providers, it certainly is not practical, nor is it completely appropriate for us to provide support to someone who is struggling with an amputation. We cannot say ‘I know how you feel’…unless we have indeed been through some type of amputation. What we can do, however, is to facilitate peer support through other patients in our practices. Basically what I am speaking of is a peer based Amputee Support Group. I helped to found one such group in San Antonio and have recently begun facilitating meetings at Georgetown University Hospital. These groups usually meet on a monthly basis and afford the volunteer members a chance to exchange helpful ideas and offer advice to others who may be going through struggles. In contrast to what you might think, these meetings are generally very positive, not engrossed in pity or sorrow at all.

We just had our 10th monthly meeting of the support group at Georgetown. I had several patients pull me aside after the meeting and inform me that these meetings are now the highlight of their month and that they don’t know what they would do without them… Being an advisor to a support group is really a very minimal time commitment, but I can guarantee you that the rewards are great. If you are interested, you should ask around your hospital to see if a group already exists, and if not, then you can get a few participants together and start one. It only takes a couple of interested participants from your clinic to make it happen.