The Surgery, Athenry has partnered with Prepare Me to pilot a set of resources all of which focus on preparing someone for a typical Doctor’s visit. We are delighted to be supporting this pilot to further our commitment to ensure that our surgery is accessible to people of all abilities and to make every effort to ensure that our patients have a positive experience.
On this page, you will find information and an introductory video about Prepare Me, its resources and how they can be used. You will also be directed to our Child version video model and our adult version video model. We hope you find it useful and feel free to give us feedback if you use any of the resources.
What is Prepare Me?
Prepare Me is a Social Enterprise at pilot stage. Prepare Me is an Academy Winner through Social Entrepreneurs Ireland 2017. It is also a KBC Bright Ideas Winner 2017 and it was a selected enterprise for The Empower Programme 2017 which assists early stage start-ups.
About the Founder:
Caitriona Watters-Crehan is the founder of Prepare Me and is from the Athenry area. She has worked in the disability sector for the past 18 years and has two members of her own family who have an additional need. Caitriona founded Prepare Me as she believes that everyone should have access to information that is explained in a manner they can understand. Her belief is that Prepare Me has the potential to create positive impact for both service providers and consumers. Caitriona is delighted to have partnered with The Surgery, Athenry to pilot the first set of resources and gather feedback on the impact created.
What does Prepare Me do?
Prepare Me aims to provide visual resources which portray a ‘typical’ consumer experience within that setting. The resources include both child and adult user versions and may be of particular benefit to those with an additional need.
Why are visual resources important?
A picture is said to be worth a thousand words and many of us recognise this to be true. There are lots of people who may not use words to speak or who may find verbal information or text difficult to process and understand. If you are visiting the doctor and you are unsure of what to expect, why, with whom and for how long you may feel anxious, stressed and without control. Prepare Me has built a set of resources which will take a user through a ‘typical’ experience visually which offers greater opportunity to understand what you might expect.
What are the resources?
– Environmental Tour
A short video which will take you through The Surgery and show you each area you are likely to use during your visit.
– Video Model for a Child
A video model which shows a ‘typical’ check up for a child using clear and simple language.
– Video Model for an Adult
A video model which shows a ‘typical’ check up for an adult again using clear and simple language.
– Picture Stories (Child and Adult Versions)
Read our Picture Stories while you are in our waiting area. The books separate the experience into easy to understand steps which replicate what a user will have seen in each video.
– Visual Schedules
In each Doctor’s room patients will have access to a set of visual schedules. These schedules again separate the experience into stages with a visual to represent each stage of a typical examination. Users can close off a tab on each visual once a step is complete. This allows a user to pace the experience and also visually shows what they have done and what they have left to do.
