From the patient's point of view (long)

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Specializes in telemetry, cardiopulmonary stepdown, LTC. Hospice.

I was just reading some of the comments in the "ER" thread, and some people were saying that it would be good to remember what things are like from the patient's point of view. This triggered some memories.

When I was a patient in a cardiac ward, 33 years old and diagnosied with peripartum cardiomyopathy, blood pressure 50/30, not knowing whether I would go home and if I did how long I would be able to stay alive and see my baby grow up...things were a LOT different from that angle.

Firstly, my cardiac nurses were tops-just wonderful people who were funny and compassionate and great at what they did. What I went through is what inspired me to become a nurse, because I DO know what it is like to lay there and stare at the ceiling. Here are some things I remember, and I don't know if they will help you see things from another perspective, but I thought I'd toss them out there.

Hospital beds suck! They have that plastic under the sheet which reflects body heat right back up and makes you hot and sweaty. They are just awful for that reason, though I know it may be necessary for keeping them clean. I had a nurse bring me in a fan, and I just loved her for that! WOW! That helped a lot.

I don't know if nurses and doctors are encouraged not to bring up the hopes of patients as a way to CYA the hospital and doctors, but it is very, VERY damaging. I guess I'll learn more about it as I become a nurse. When I was ill I was desperate for someone to tell me something to hang onto...something to give me hope because I was terrified, and everyone just looked at me pitieously, asked me how old my children were, and acted like I was going to check out and leave them soon! I found myself actually looking at nurses and saying defiantly, "Well, I have no plans of leaving them!" and they would nod vigorously that of COURSE I wasn't going to...but I could tell they didn't believe it or that they were at best, guarded. My point in this is, hey, sometimes the best medicine is a positive attitude! People who are desperately ill need hope, not pity! The doctors were worst about this. Later on when I was improving and would feel that I was going to recover, all I had to do to ruin my day was go to a cardiologist appointment. They would never focus on recovery, they talked about heart transplants and shortened lifespan. I would come home crying and feeling like a dangerously ill person all over again! I finally had to get in my doctor's face and say, "Look, my focus is on RECOVERY, I know from research that it is possible, and I'm not stopping until I achieve that. I don't want to hear anymore about how sick I am, I want to focus on how well I am and how far I have come." He never talked "doomsday" to me again, and here I am! :chuckle

While in the hospital, of course nurses were coming on and off their shifts at all hours. To some of those nurses, 2AM probably seemed like the afternoon. But guess what? It's 2AM to your patients! These people are very ill, probably scared, having a tough time sleeping in a strange and uncomfortable bed, and probably very much need rest to help them recover. However, there were nurses just 10 feet outside my room door laughing and giggling at the top of their lungs...telling stories in full, loud voice and cackling like it was daytime and it was the wee hours of the morning. While all of my nurses were wonderful people and did their jobs great, I seriously thought about getting up and teetering over to the door and shutting it (but I couldn't get up at the time). Since then our family has always said, "A hospital is no place to go if you want to rest." So my comment would be PLEASE, be quiet in the hallway when people are trying to sleep! I wanted so desperately to escape my worries by just falling asleep but that wasn't possible.

When I got home and was recovering well, I sent a card to the nurses of that cardiac floor and told them that I would always remember their kindnesses while I was there. I figured they didn't get to hear from very many past patients and might like to know I'd done well. One aside....there was ONE nurse who made all the difference to me. She was the one who took me out for my walks in the hallway. I told her how other nurses seemed to be so pessimistic about my outcome, and that my doctor was scaring me to pieces with all his doom and gloom talk. She confided in me that they are supposed to be guarded and not encourage the patient too much because what happens if they DON'T get well and everyone led them to believe they would? She said she had breast cancer a few years back, and the same thing was done to her, but that she had overcome that situation. This nurse said that she knew I could do it, too, that the body was capable of many wonderful things and that she had heard of women recovering from peripartum cardiomyopathy. See, that's all I needed to hear! That it was possible for me to be okay and that someone believed in me. I have never forgotten her or her encouragement.

Okay, so that's all I can remember from the patient's point of view. So much more good than bad...so many kind eyes behinds masks who genuinely cared when I cried, so many pats on the arm and smiles, and one nurse who told it to me straight because she saw that it was what I needed to get well. Behind all that I know they were doing their jobs that they had been trained to do, but you notice what I really remember the most??? :) God bless all of you for doing your best to make the lives of scared, sick people better. I will be proud to be one of you one day.

Cara

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

Wow, Cara! What a journey you've had!

:icon_hug:

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Cara - thanks for sharing - that really was inspiring! Good luck to you and I will keep in mind your input when caring for my patients.

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I was just reading some of the comments in the "ER" thread, and some people were saying that it would be good to remember what things are like from the patient's point of view. This triggered some memories.

When I was a patient in a cardiac ward, 33 years old and diagnosied with peripartum cardiomyopathy, blood pressure 50/30, not knowing whether I would go home and if I did how long I would be able to stay alive and see my baby grow up...things were a LOT different from that angle.

Firstly, my cardiac nurses were tops-just wonderful people who were funny and compassionate and great at what they did. What I went through is what inspired me to become a nurse, because I DO know what it is like to lay there and stare at the ceiling. Here are some things I remember, and I don't know if they will help you see things from another perspective, but I thought I'd toss them out there.

Hospital beds suck! They have that plastic under the sheet which reflects body heat right back up and makes you hot and sweaty. They are just awful for that reason, though I know it may be necessary for keeping them clean. I had a nurse bring me in a fan, and I just loved her for that! WOW! That helped a lot.

I don't know if nurses and doctors are encouraged not to bring up the hopes of patients as a way to CYA the hospital and doctors, but it is very, VERY damaging. I guess I'll learn more about it as I become a nurse. When I was ill I was desperate for someone to tell me something to hang onto...something to give me hope because I was terrified, and everyone just looked at me pitieously, asked me how old my children were, and acted like I was going to check out and leave them soon! I found myself actually looking at nurses and saying defiantly, "Well, I have no plans of leaving them!" and they would nod vigorously that of COURSE I wasn't going to...but I could tell they didn't believe it or that they were at best, guarded. My point in this is, hey, sometimes the best medicine is a positive attitude! People who are desperately ill need hope, not pity! The doctors were worst about this. Later on when I was improving and would feel that I was going to recover, all I had to do to ruin my day was go to a cardiologist appointment. They would never focus on recovery, they talked about heart transplants and shortened lifespan. I would come home crying and feeling like a dangerously ill person all over again! I finally had to get in my doctor's face and say, "Look, my focus is on RECOVERY, I know from research that it is possible, and I'm not stopping until I achieve that. I don't want to hear anymore about how sick I am, I want to focus on how well I am and how far I have come." He never talked "doomsday" to me again, and here I am! :chuckle

While in the hospital, of course nurses were coming on and off their shifts at all hours. To some of those nurses, 2AM probably seemed like the afternoon. But guess what? It's 2AM to your patients! These people are very ill, probably scared, having a tough time sleeping in a strange and uncomfortable bed, and probably very much need rest to help them recover. However, there were nurses just 10 feet outside my room door laughing and giggling at the top of their lungs...telling stories in full, loud voice and cackling like it was daytime and it was the wee hours of the morning. While all of my nurses were wonderful people and did their jobs great, I seriously thought about getting up and teetering over to the door and shutting it (but I couldn't get up at the time). Since then our family has always said, "A hospital is no place to go if you want to rest." So my comment would be PLEASE, be quiet in the hallway when people are trying to sleep! I wanted so desperately to escape my worries by just falling asleep but that wasn't possible.

When I got home and was recovering well, I sent a card to the nurses of that cardiac floor and told them that I would always remember their kindnesses while I was there. I figured they didn't get to hear from very many past patients and might like to know I'd done well. One aside....there was ONE nurse who made all the difference to me. She was the one who took me out for my walks in the hallway. I told her how other nurses seemed to be so pessimistic about my outcome, and that my doctor was scaring me to pieces with all his doom and gloom talk. She confided in me that they are supposed to be guarded and not encourage the patient too much because what happens if they DON'T get well and everyone led them to believe they would? She said she had breast cancer a few years back, and the same thing was done to her, but that she had overcome that situation. This nurse said that she knew I could do it, too, that the body was capable of many wonderful things and that she had heard of women recovering from peripartum cardiomyopathy. See, that's all I needed to hear! That it was possible for me to be okay and that someone believed in me. I have never forgotten her or her encouragement.

Okay, so that's all I can remember from the patient's point of view. So much more good than bad...so many kind eyes behinds masks who genuinely cared when I cried, so many pats on the arm and smiles, and one nurse who told it to me straight because she saw that it was what I needed to get well. Behind all that I know they were doing their jobs that they had been trained to do, but you notice what I really remember the most??? :) God bless all of you for doing your best to make the lives of scared, sick people better. I will be proud to be one of you one day.

Cara

In spite of what Dr. Dean Edell says, I DO think there are at least two sides to every condition. I totally believe in the body's ability to heal itself (after all, we've survived a very very long time without modern medical practice). But then, I have hypnosis and NLP training...I also think Normal Cousins' "Anatomy of an Illness" should be required for every medical professional, and seeing "Patch Adams". :)

Absolutely, though--a hospital really is NO place to rest. Makes me wonder how much adequate rest plays in helping the body heal itself. Sorta like I wonder how much people laying on cold pavements plays into the medical wisdom about the "golden hour" for trauma patients. Try laying on the cold ground--it's not fun even when you are healthy.

NurseFirst

"Question conventional wisdom"

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