(no subject)
If there is one thing that is amazing to me since I became a nurse, it's that I have yet to get sick. I must have amazing immunity right now. MRSA doesn't stand a chance! However, I do think that I will stay up to date on my immunizations and titers.
The reason I say this is because I really really believe in the power of touch. I hate wearing gloves (although I do, when needed) because I feel like it is insulting to my patients. Again...I wear them when it is a safety issue, either to myself, or others, but I don't wear them for everything involving touch, because I can always wash my hands. It's instinct for me to touch them. Today I walked into a hospice patients room, and the first words out of my mouth when I saw this pale, thin old woman laying in bed unresponsive was "I remember her!" I had this woman as a patient just a few weeks prior and although she was a little confused, she was up, walking, and talking. After the shock of her condition wore off, and I realized that she wasn't able to verbally respond to me, I just sat by her and rubbed her arms.
A big moment for me when I was doing my pediatric rotation that made me realize that pediatrics wasn't for me was when I had a baby who was maybe 15 months old who had basically been in the hospital her entire life with one issue or another. Her family rarely visited her and she became so used to just laying in that awful hospital crib until someone would come in to interact with her. Because of this, she was WAY behind in her developmental milestones. This baby was SICK. I wasn't even assigned to care for her that day, but I went in her room, which was empty except for her, picked her up, and held her super close. I rubbed her naked little back and had her cheek pressed up against mine. It was instint to mother her and I even kissed her on the top of her head without thinking twice about it. I knew then that I would get WAY too attached to these kids, and it would make my job extremely difficult.
So yeah. That's my little tangent for tonight. It was just something I noticed. And it's strange, too, because I'm not a real touchy person normally. Just with my patients.
In other news...we had quite the experience tonight. One of my favorite co-workers came up to me and said that one of HER patients was refusing her as a nurse and asked if I would take over. I agreed. But then I got more report on this patient and learned she had a lot of psych issues. She was very demanding and paranoid. And her mannerisms were extremely child-like. I could tell the other nurse was about ready to lose her mind, so I went down to the room and spoke with the person. I told her that she needed to lower her voice and watch her words, as we had a lot of sick people around her, including a hospice patient that wasn't doing well, and her behavior was inappropriate. I also told her that we would get her some water and she could take a little break in either her room or in the waiting room while we got things sorted out. This suggestion made her go ballistic. She was then refusing anyone in our hallway to be her nurse. So I asked her if she planned on leaving. If she won't take a nurse, then what was the plan, ya know??? So I called my charge nurse who called the nursing supervisor. At this point, the patient was so freaking LIVID (over WHAT? I'm not sure yet!) that she took off. I ran after her and said that all of her belongings were still in her room. Her response? "I'll get new things!" Uh. Okay. So we documented the HECK out of that case (because you KNOW in the end it'll be our fault) and put the case to rest. Oh but guess what? Guess who was in the ER at 11:30 that night?
That's what kills me about my job. If a doctor won't give a patient their med of choice (dilaudid!) then the patient threatens to leave. Okay? So go...go get yourself some Tylenol...no wait! Make that EXTRA STRENGTH Tylenol...you'll really show them!
I think I needed to vent ;)
The reason I say this is because I really really believe in the power of touch. I hate wearing gloves (although I do, when needed) because I feel like it is insulting to my patients. Again...I wear them when it is a safety issue, either to myself, or others, but I don't wear them for everything involving touch, because I can always wash my hands. It's instinct for me to touch them. Today I walked into a hospice patients room, and the first words out of my mouth when I saw this pale, thin old woman laying in bed unresponsive was "I remember her!" I had this woman as a patient just a few weeks prior and although she was a little confused, she was up, walking, and talking. After the shock of her condition wore off, and I realized that she wasn't able to verbally respond to me, I just sat by her and rubbed her arms.
A big moment for me when I was doing my pediatric rotation that made me realize that pediatrics wasn't for me was when I had a baby who was maybe 15 months old who had basically been in the hospital her entire life with one issue or another. Her family rarely visited her and she became so used to just laying in that awful hospital crib until someone would come in to interact with her. Because of this, she was WAY behind in her developmental milestones. This baby was SICK. I wasn't even assigned to care for her that day, but I went in her room, which was empty except for her, picked her up, and held her super close. I rubbed her naked little back and had her cheek pressed up against mine. It was instint to mother her and I even kissed her on the top of her head without thinking twice about it. I knew then that I would get WAY too attached to these kids, and it would make my job extremely difficult.
So yeah. That's my little tangent for tonight. It was just something I noticed. And it's strange, too, because I'm not a real touchy person normally. Just with my patients.
In other news...we had quite the experience tonight. One of my favorite co-workers came up to me and said that one of HER patients was refusing her as a nurse and asked if I would take over. I agreed. But then I got more report on this patient and learned she had a lot of psych issues. She was very demanding and paranoid. And her mannerisms were extremely child-like. I could tell the other nurse was about ready to lose her mind, so I went down to the room and spoke with the person. I told her that she needed to lower her voice and watch her words, as we had a lot of sick people around her, including a hospice patient that wasn't doing well, and her behavior was inappropriate. I also told her that we would get her some water and she could take a little break in either her room or in the waiting room while we got things sorted out. This suggestion made her go ballistic. She was then refusing anyone in our hallway to be her nurse. So I asked her if she planned on leaving. If she won't take a nurse, then what was the plan, ya know??? So I called my charge nurse who called the nursing supervisor. At this point, the patient was so freaking LIVID (over WHAT? I'm not sure yet!) that she took off. I ran after her and said that all of her belongings were still in her room. Her response? "I'll get new things!" Uh. Okay. So we documented the HECK out of that case (because you KNOW in the end it'll be our fault) and put the case to rest. Oh but guess what? Guess who was in the ER at 11:30 that night?
That's what kills me about my job. If a doctor won't give a patient their med of choice (dilaudid!) then the patient threatens to leave. Okay? So go...go get yourself some Tylenol...no wait! Make that EXTRA STRENGTH Tylenol...you'll really show them!
I think I needed to vent ;)