I'm still a student (14 days to go) and am precepting on a L&D unit (as well as antepartum) in a hospital that has about 300 deliveries per month. We have had quite a few FD's under 20 weeks lately that have been admitted for induction. The most recent were 20 weeks (possible demise at 16/17 weeks) and 17 weeks (possible demise at 16 weeks).
I feel a pull towards these patients and have had great relationships with them during my shifts. I feel that I have the right things to say (or more aptly, the things NOT to say) and they have been very open and honest with me and have thanked me at the end of the day for my kindness.
My question for discussion is this .... most of the nurses on the unit seem "upset" that they are even on our unit (they would prefer they go to a med/surg unit) at this early time and most of them would rather not be assigned to these patients. I don't feel that they are treated very well but then again I'm very sensitive and feel some sort of "pull" to these patients. Are the nurses right? Should they be home or on a different floor?
Sigh ... this is an area that I may do more research on. Just these few experiences have made me want to know more and to be able to do more for these patients, mentally, as much as physically.
What are your experiences with this? Thoughts, comments and opinions welcome ...
Where I work, there is NO WAY I'd EVER want to be a patient on our med-surg floor, for any reason. It's a zoo and the nurse-patient ratio is crazy too.
Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
Truly, every nurse who is going to care for these patients, whether they do go to med-surg or OB units, needs to be at least basically-trained on bereavement issues, and how to care for such patients enduring these losses.
I would expand this to say "every nurse who is going to care for ANY patients needs to be at least basically-trained on bereavement issues".
In our area, there was a house fire last week in which 9 people were treated and released, 4 children died (ages 6yo, 4yo, 4yo, and 3yo), and a woman and a 5yo boy are still in critical condition. The woman in critical condition is the mother of three of the children who perished in the fire. When and if she ever comes to, she's going to need the emotional and medical support of the nurses in ICU and whatever other floors she's on during her recovery.
Life has a way of inserting tragedies into our lives at any stage/age of life. Traffic accidents, carbon monoxide poisonings, boating accidents, house fires -- there are all kinds of situations where a surviving family member -- of any age -- may be in the hospital for medical treatment while also going through the grieving process.
Being on ortho or peds or whatever unit doesn't mean you won't have grieving patients going through a loss that you may not have experienced yourself... but caring for the patient's overall well-being is still part of the nursing job description.
Nobody likes to talk about death, but if there were ever a place that a patient should feel "safe" talking about it, one would think that a hospital would be that safe place.
I agree that these patients should be on an OB floor, where staff, RNs and CNAs (at least at our hospital) who have experienced a similar loss, care for or just visit these women who are going through a difficult time. The hospital staff also sends a condolensce card, after the woman has been discharged that anyone who has care for the pt signs. We also have a white or pink rose that hangs on the door, as a symbol that this patient and family is grieving.
tntrn, ASN, RN
1,340 Posts
We keep them on our OB floor too.
Where I work, there is NO WAY I'd EVER want to be a patient on our med-surg floor, for any reason. It's a zoo and the nurse-patient ratio is crazy too.