When you're on a date... and run into a previous patient
Two days ago, I was unexpectedly approached by a patient I had worked with over a month ago… while I was on a date. Here’s what happened.
NursesAnnouncementsArchive
It was my day off. I met my date for "coffee or drinks" at an eclectic little side shop downtown. The conversation was stimulating and not the typical first date interrogations I've experienced in the past. We talked for an hour and then left the coffee shop to go for a walk at the nearby park... And that's when it happened.
A tall man in a dark blue suit approached me and asked: "excuse me, you look familiar do I know you?"
I told the man we didn't know each other but I introduced myself and my date. When he heard my name, he said "Oh, now I remember, you were the nurse that helped me when I had my heart attack" Bam. Zing. Ring-a-ding-ding. I suddenly remembered him... and you know what else... I seemed like a hero to my date. A hero. Knocked it out of the park.
We only had a very brief less than 1-hour interaction as he came into the ER and we rushed him as quickly as we could to the cath lab. There were probably 8 people in the room doing various things (lines, labs, EKG, monitor, pads, shaving, consents, etc.) I remember while I was working on him, I did my best to stay at the head of the bed and explain everything that was going on and what to expect going forward. There wasn't a social worker on shift so I had to also call his extended family which was one of his biggest concerns. We gave him the meds, cardiology was finally ready for him and then just like that he was gone. I didn't think I would ever see him again, especially since I live in a big city.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to meet him again. It was perfect timing actually. I was trying to explain that nurses do a lot more than just give pills and follow doctors orders when he approached me. He shook my hand, told me that they "put a few stents in", he stayed a couple of nights and then he was discharged home. And then he thanked me and walked away. My date asked me if I paid the man to say those things. I told her I wasn't above doing that... But it was genuine interaction. I'm not sure she believed me.
Experiences like this are so refreshing and rare. I think we as nurses tend to cling to the negative experiences and interactions. Just the last shift I worked, I was called every name in the book while taking care of a very intoxicated patient. Every day there's a nurse out there taking some kind of undeserved abuse from a patient. And while the importance of nursing and the impact on people's lives was drilled into our heads (or at least my head) in nursing school, I forget every now and then. And it's nice to be reminded.
I should remember the woman who stopped me at Target and told me I worked with her father when he had his stroke. (He's apparently still smoking and was currently at the casino according to the daughter). I should be grateful that a future chef in culinary school who cut himself on two different occasions and needed stitches remembers me and is excited to have "the fanny pack nurse" again. Because they are proof of this positive impact that nursing can provide. And this is why I became a nurse.
I doubt I'll see that patient again, but I've been wrong before. However, I do think I'll see my date again... But I've also... been wrong before...
