Emotionally intense day at clinicals

[future_nurse11]

I'm in my first term in the LVN program & today was a particularly emotionally intense day at Clinicals. I was assigned to get vitals for a number of pts & when I went to one pt's room I found her bawling her eyes out. She claimed that she was abused the night before by two men. I kept telling her that I would do all that I could to make sure that she's safe.

I immediately reported it to my instructor & I came to find out that for the last few days she's been reliving a past memory of a terrible incident she encountered when she was younger.

I planned to do some studying as soon as I got home but I just can't seem to focus. I'm guessing it's because that lady is still on my mind. It was so hard to see her so distraught & to not know how to relieve her emotional pain. How does a nurse handle such emotionally intense situations & leave the tough feelings at work & not affect your personal/family life? I just felt so out of it when I got home & haven't really been able to relax.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Remember, work is work and home is home.

Patients have amazingly complex dynamics.

Some are at baseline fragile, and add an illness to it, and it is magnified 500%.

Others spent their entire lives solid as rocks, and because of dementia, sickness, disease processes--their emotions just break down.

You did the absolute correct thing in assuring this patient that you would help keep them safe. You can empathize--you can redirect--speaking softly, suggesting a cool cloth, a recliner, music and tea--that type of thing. "Right now, you are safe. I hear what you are saying, you are safe now, what can I do for you now?" Bring them back to present if you can.

Understand that many patients (and older patients especially) have often lived through things that we can't imagine. When a dementia sets in, when an infection/sickness occurs it breaks down any "social norms" that a patient may have used to cope in their every day life, and sometimes for years. Any coping skills are not present. And what is happening is very real to the patient,

Of course, you also did the right thing to bring it to the charge nurse's attention. We all can and should take any accusations of abuse seriously. With that being said, be sure that you let the oncoming nurse know that this is a behavior that has manifested itself with the patient, just so everyone is aware. Perhaps she needs to be medicated, as I am sure it is exhausting for her to be in distress for lengths of time. Perhaps she needs a social work/counseling referral, as again, dependent on diagnosis, it could help with the process of these feelings coming to the surface.

For you, do not ever internalize work to bring it home. Big red stop sign in your head when you get home. You do not need to worry about work when you are not at work. You, I am sure, have enough to concern yourself with at home (as we all do). If you are finding that you can't let it go, you may want to seek some counseling to help you do that. Also, be sure to use any time that is used in school for feedback of clinicals to discuss this situation, and get the support of your classmates--and support your classmates, as one of them may have this patient tomorrow.

Best wishes!