how to fix discharge teaching?

[dancingostrich]

I am currently in nursing school. But weeks before I started I had a baby and had a very bad complication that needed quick medical attention to save my life. When I left I got the same discharge teaching everyone gets. However after several months of horrible panic attacks I finally went to a therapist and got diagnosed with ptsd from it. I had never even thought of that even being a possability. They teach about the signs of postpartum depression. But that is all. After talking online to some women who have had the same thing happen to them, and they wish they knew that ptsd could result from it so they would have seeked help sooner because everyone and I mean everyone I've talked to has had horrible flashbacks and panic attacks. is there anything I can do besides become a postpartum nurse and mention it when my patients leave?

[Altra, BSN, RN]

After talking online to some women who have had the same thing happen to them, and they wish they knew that ptsd could result from it so they would have seeked help sooner because everyone and I mean everyone I've talked to has had horrible flashbacks and panic attacks.

Consider that you are talking with a subset of maternity patients who have experienced a certain complication, and the subset of those who have experienced emotional distress as a result of that complication, and the subset of those who wish to discuss it over the internet.

When you do your mother-baby clinicals, observe the volume of information that must be communicated to new parents within a 36-hour-ish time frame.

Then you'll be better able to adapt discharge teaching for each patient's individual needs.

[brownbook]

Your situation sounds horrible for you to have to go through. I can't imagine how awful you must have felt, or still feel. However it sounds like you are still too close to your own situation and maybe not always under control of your feelings.

You need to be very careful dealing with your patients if you feel too emotional about this. I completely understand you want to help others not feel as bad as you did.

If (I assume this was a very unique situation?) you encounter a patient who had a similar medical complication you might mention that sometimes people who experience a traumatic event such as theirs need someone to talk to afterwards. Tell the patient to watch out for feeling more anxious, stressed, not sleeping, etc. and they should talk to their doctor if they have these feelings.

(Honestly I can NEVER think of what to say until 3 days later, but some words to that effect)!

[NurseGuyBri]

I'm going to be very generic here, and you may have done all of what I'm about to say. First, you have to thoroughly evaluate and understand why you feel how you feel and know where you are. You're in nursing school, right? Use nursing process (yeah, I know, I'm a nurse-nerd). This can be something you do now or you have already done in the past, but it's important.

1) Assess- Where are you know? Where do you want to be? Do you self identify feelings that precipitate anxiety?

2) Diagnose- What is it that you need to start with to get where you want to be?

3) Plan- What are you going to do when you start feeling this anxiety? What happens when you feel overwhelmed and how will you identify and manage that?

4) Intervene- Set up your plan BEFORE it happens

5) Evaluate - Did it work?

I HAVE NOT ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION YET. I know that. But without knowing this, how can you move forward? Now you need to take in all of your resources. Your personal experience is best- take it to the net and find more information. Type into a search engine something like "PTSD Patient Teaching" or "Anxiety Education" or whatever else you can think of.

Lastly remember another key nursing school motto, "Discharge Planning begins at admission". Learn as much as you can about your patient- You'll be able to better tailor the information to them- and be vigilant. It's a lot to ask but it's your professional duty (and I bet it's your personal goal, too). Great luck!