A very positive clinical experience

[Stcroix, ASN, PhD, RN]

So often we all read about nasty experiences as many people have the need to vent about bad clinical experiences, and I understand that. I want to share a very positive experience with you. On my second to last clinical day as a student (I am graduating), I had a very nice older lady who was in for pneumonia and some co-morbidities. She was a tough bird who acted quite gruff and self assured. She told me she worked full time and "wanted to get back to her work ASAP".

Things went well through the morning and when I stopped by later I met her husband who was obviously frail and sickly. When I had a free moment just before lunch I stopped back in her room. Her face was like stone and the swaggering self assurance was gone. I stood by her bed and she stared ahead, not acknowledging my presence. I stood for a moment and then said " You look upset". She told me the doctor had just been in to see her and she was told "I don't know when you will be going home, your pneumonia is not resolving as we would like." I guess I must have been a safe ear because her fears flowed out. She was the breadwinner in her little family and there were no family members near by. She was always the strong one who looked out for everything and everyone in her family, and now she was feeling mortal. "I have never been sick before, not like this," she said. We talked for 10 minutes and I occasionally said "tell me more" and the like, and she surely did. Just before I left, another doc came in, the pulmonologist. His report was far less gloomy and he assure her she would get better and much of what determined when she went home was up to her and her body. He encouraged her to use the incentive spirometer and to take walks if she was up to it. The doc left and I told her that his appraisal was much less gloomy than I had thought. She smiled. I asked, "would you like to go for a walk, my dear?" She said "I'd be delighted". We had a nice walk (by far much farther that she had ever been).

The next day (my last clinical day in school) I was approached by the nurse that I was working with the day before. I got an 'atta boy' for making the patient feel so much better. It seems the patient had told her nurse all about our talk, and our walk. Apparently the patient went for an additional walk, and was feeling better about getting back home and to her work.

I write this not to pat myself on the back, but to share that a few timely words and minutes with a patient can do more for them than most medical interventions. try to remember that as you move forward in your career.

Have any positive stories to share?

[lunardreams]

What a beautiful story! I'm starting an RN program in January and I hope to have some positive experiences like this myself. Thanks for sharing!! :)

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

While it wasn't the point of your post, I think you are well deserving of a pat on the back.

Good for you for making a difference for your patient and going the extra mile to create a positive experience for your patient, and for yourself.

[rubato, ASN, RN]

Fantastic story. Great job with therapeutic communication and having that 6th sense that good nurses have. You do deserve that pat on the back!

[LesMonsterRN, ADN, RN]

Great job! What a great reinforcement of what you learned about therapeutic communication and simply listening to your patient. I'll bet you remember this experience for the rest of your career. And congratulations on your upcoming graduation!

[ChanelBullock]

First let me say great job with the therapeutic communication, it will definitely take you far in nursing. I'm in my senior year of the RN Program at Arkansas State University, and I must say I can brag on how great the nursing instructors are there and how they allow for the students to experience positive clinical days. Instead setting strict education guidelines and stressing the students out, they actually allow us to explore during the clinical setting and see different patient issues whether its regarding disease processes or surgical interventions. They promote and push us towards more effective therapeutic communication with our patients. During our mental health class rotation our clinical instructors made sure they assigned us patients with mental health disorders so that we could get the full experience. They believe more in seeing it in real life and partaking in it, whether than just reading about it. I had a patient with severe depression who had to have a total left hip replacement and was NPO for the surgery so she wasn't able to get her antidepressants. She became so furious with the staff and her family due to the sudden with-drawl of her medication that she wouldn't allow anyone to come into her room or take medication from any of the nursing staff. I spoke with my instructor about the situation and she informed that I should just give a little TLC the best way I know how and come up with some ideas to get her relaxed so she would take her medication and start with her recovery processes from surgery. Well I read over a few communication techniques and then put some of my own thoughts in order and finally went in and talked with her. I combed her hair and curled it, put on her make up, helped her get all dressed up so she could feel good about herself, and talked with her about her past experiences regarding her depression and what she did before to help with it. That was all it took! She trusted me and took all her medication, agreed to have PT come and work with her, and even apologized to the staff and her family for her behavior. I was very thankful for that clinical day because in return I did awesome on the test the next day! It was truly a positive clinical experience.

[Stcroix, ASN, PhD, RN]

Great job ChanelBullock. Experiences like that are why we are into nursing.

[blt99]

I love happy stories like these! Great idea to start a positive thread!

[brillohead, ADN, RN]

In my Psychiatric Nursing rotation, I sat down and talked to a depressed patient who also has a chronic, painful medical condition. I also have an incurable medical condition (thankfully not as debilitating as what the patient has), and I just chatted with her about how hard it can be when other people don't understand what you're going through. Since both of our diseases are rather rare, it really is hard to find someone else who understands what you're really experiencing and how the disease affects your life in ways that people just don't think about.

I also shared with her my own coping mechanism -- I moderate an international support forum on the internet, and I help people get the information and care that they need, and helping others gives me a sense of having something positive come out of my having to go through the things I've experienced in the past 20 years of dealing with this. Knowing that others have been saved from months or years of physical suffering because of the information I've provided or that I've been able to relieve someone's emotional isolation by sharing my experiences makes me feel that my disease hasn't won.

Anyway, the next week I was assigned to a different section of the Behavioral Health Unit, but I popped my head in to her section when I saw that her name was still on the roster. She got a big smile on her face, gave me a big hug, and told me she was going home that day -- that after our talk she had just had a big "light bulb" moment and it totally changed her outlook -- she's going to talk to her doctor about setting up a support group for his patients who have her same disease, she's going to become more active with a Facebook support group for her disease, she's going to look into organizing a fundraising event for research, etc.

And *this* is why I'm going into nursing. I've been counting beans and pushing pencils for 25 years, and it has never given me a fraction of the satisfaction that I got from knowing that I had a positive impact on someone's life. There have been other moments, like when someone thanked me for holding their hand during their PICC line insertion or for holding their leg while they pushed out their baby, and those little moments are what make the sweat and sore feet and code browns all worthwhile.