Re: What I Love About Nursing Is....
Last night I took care of an otherwise healthy, active patient with virtually no medical history, admitted with chest pain, who subsequently had a positive stress test. I gave her first dose of metoprolol, her first (loading) dose of Plavix, and her first dose of Zocor. I explained the indications and most common side effects of each medication, and though I could see she had reservations, she took them. Then I asked her if she had any questions about the angiogram she was scheduled for the next day. She couldn't think of any, since she had seen the video, but I explained to her how she would be sedated for the procedure, how, if there were any significant narrowings in her coronary arteries, they might place a stent or two, and that when she got back to our floor, she would still have a sheath in her femoral artery and how she would have to lie flat for two hours after the sheath was removed. I explained what a sheath is and why it's important not to bend the leg, and I told her that we would do everything we could to keep her comfortable, and all she had to do was let her nurse know if she needed anything. I told her that her vital signs would be continuously monitored, and her nurse would be checking on her frequently. She signed the consent, but I could see she still had some doubts. I said "We are the biggest cardiac facility between ******** and ******, and we do thousands of these every year. We do this all the time, and you are in very good hands.". She said "Thank you for telling me that. It really helps.".
Today, when I came in, she still had her sheath in and we had to pull it. As I stayed with her, loosening the clamp, she told me some things, things like how the day she came into the hospital with chest pain was the anniversary of a loved one's death, and how scary this all would have been had she not been told what to expect.
After she had been up and walked, I went in to give her her meds. I talked to her again about the metoprolol, the Plavix, and the Zocor, and I explained to her that while her total cholesterol was less than 200, her LDL was too high, and this was why the cardiologist had increased her dose of Zocor. After all was said and done, I said, "Well, I won't be here tomorrow when you get discharged, so best of luck to you.". She hugged me, and thanked me sincerely for everything I had done for her, for explaining everything to her, and for making her feel at ease, knowing that she was being watched over the whole time.
That is what I love about nursing.
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