Venting

I need to vent for a minute about work. Not really work so much, but some of the people I have to work with. Not as in the other employees, but rather the patients I have to see.

Part of my job is running an obesity program for kids/teenagers. It consists of 5 weeks of information sessions (what things we will be focusing on and how we will be making changes) and then 6 months of weekly follow-ups that involve weighing in and creating goals and making changes for the next week. It's really a labor of love, because I try to get the kids excited and make being healthier something they want to do. It's not easy to get children and teenagers to eat healthy and be active, when they would rather eat junk food and play video games. Plus, because we feel the program is extremely important for the kids who qualify, we often waive all payment if they cannot afford it. We want to make sure they live, after all. And there's only so much I can do. I cannot come over to their houses and cook for them, for instance. All I can do is give them the information and try to work with them to change their behaviors. Yes, sometimes the information should be common knowledge, but obviously there's a problem if the family is in the program.

So I got really frustrated when I received a letter from a mother whose teenage daughter had been in the program, but decided to drop out. She decided to give us some "feedback" to the program, saying that I was boring and couldn't engage her daughter. That I was telling them things they already knew. That I was talking at her and expecting her to make changes without any help. And they only came to 2 sessions! I distinctly remember that the teenager was one who was not motivated and didn't want to be in the program in the first place. I would ask her questions and try to engage her and would get 1 or 2 word answers. I would appreciate feedback if it came from someone who had been through the whole program, but when you don't even give the program a chance to work, then don't complain about the content. Am I wrong?

Let's just say, it didn't put me in the best frame of mind to see the three patients I have lined up today for the program.