At the Bedside.

I wrote this short essay when I was freshly hired in an MS ward but was floated to Telemetry when we had low census. Tell me about your comments and if you actually have had this experience before. Peace!

At the Bedside.

I was introducing myself to my patient one time and, as usual, they asked me what my name was all about. And, as usual, I tell them that it was a name combination. This seemed routine for every patient admission I have, or when i receive patients from change of shift report.

Like my name, everything seems monotonous. Their admission complaints, if they have insurance, etc. Even our conversations. Seldom does it happen that my patients ask where I'm from and the reaction i get from telling the truth would always be that they are surprised that I go home everyday, to a very far away place just to earn PhP8,000 something monthly. Yes, they are always surprised.

But for me it isn't really for the money. First, it's really for Nursing. I would want people to have respect for the profession and for it to develop. Second would be for the sharpening of my Nursing skills. Third would be my preparation for leaving this country. These are my raison d'etre for staying at this hospital.

It came to me that not every RN in this hospital have the same goal as me. Some of them would be contented that, the 8 hour shift had finished and its time for them to go home. That it's done when they are finished giving their medication. Not even bothering to ask how is the patient. Or reassessing the patient for his/her pain after giving pain medications. Not all of them pay close attention to the patients' concern, but to the physicians'. These things depress me. Because nursing is not defined as "Following MDs". It is defined as the diagnosis and treatment of human responses to potential or actual illness. That we are just partners with the physician. That we have the role of assesing our patients.

Why am I ranting about this? Because I took care of a patient that, it occured to me upon interviewing the relatives that there was a gap in nursing care. A gap that could have prevented that patient from deteriorating. A gap that, if filled by the RN on duty, would have changed that patient's destiny. A destiny that mattered between life and death. But then again, I could not really blame that RN. Maybe he/she didn't know how to assess. Maybe the signs and symptoms were of subclinical nature. Maybe, just maybe.

He/She could have stayed at the bedside more.