what are some unmet needs??

kaycee · Oct 30, 2001

Can you be more specific? I'm not sure what you're looking for.

frappachino · Oct 30, 2001

like what sorts of things do u find your patients could get more of or that nurses could provide better for pts. Things that u should do to promote pt's health and for pt's to cope/deal with losses (in terms of loss of mobitiliy, function, relationship ect)

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Oct 30, 2001

Cloning.

I think we partially try to meet all needs but need more time to feel like the job is done to our satisfaction.

frappachino- this is such a broad questiion. Some days the patients are very lucky to get food and water- at least the ones who need to be fed. So any need could be an unmet need. What about the guy who gets fed but 30 min late with apologies, is he going to trust us to be there right on the money if he arrests?

Tell us more about where you want to go with this.

oramar · Oct 30, 2001

My biggest vote for the unmet need catagory is failure to relate information reguarding the effects of illness on a patient's sex life. It is getting harder and harder to have time to relate information that is crucial to recover let alone deal with the anziety caused by questions reguarding sex. This type of anxiety is best dealt with once a patient has built a sense of trust in their caregiver. To build trust you got to put in time, there is just no time. Rarely, some of the literature we pass out will touch on the subject but it is not addressed indebth. I will give you an example. Recently I had a lap choley. Got to the hospital at 8:30am, had the surgery at 10:30am, got back to short stay at 1pm, awake enough for nurse to start discharge teaching at 3pm, out the door at 5pm. This is no reflection on the nurse because she did an excellent job. However, right before I left the hospital she asked me if I had any further questions. For a second I wondered if I should ask her if I should wait untill after my two week check up to have sex but I decided against it. I just did not want to slow down the discharge process and I knew this person not at all. In my half groggy state I wondered how many of my patients had left my care with that same big question mark in their minds. Being a nurse I figured I could manage the problem on my own but most patients are not nurses.

Agnus · Oct 30, 2001

Oh, I agree. Patients too often are left wondering about things. I think we need to invite questions more. And answer them in ways the patient understands. Asking for feedback to be sure he understands. Then provide the info in writing as well. Because everyone forgets. I believe written info should supplement, not replace face to face teaching. We need to present an unhurried presence to the patient. Often they are afraid to ask because they think we don't have time for them or they are not as important as someone else. To present an unhurried demeanor can take as little as asking a patient if there is anything else they need before leaving the room. (it's easier than going back in 2 minutes when they put thier light on) Aslo asking for questions. Sometimes it doesn't occure to them to ask unless invited.

I think we don't provide enough touch. Yes, we are always touching, to do tasks. That is not the kind of touch I mean. Touch as is you truly cared about this person. Stroking is very therapeutic. Linger with you touch just a bit longer than necessary to convey comfort and careing. Back rubs that are acts of love not just to stimulate circulation, I sometimes make love to a patients feet by bathing them in a basin and then leasiurly massaging them. Pts tend to open up at these times. Plus I'm giving badly need foot care. Feet and backs are very neglected these days in nursing. If you have experience either a foot rub or back rub you can guess how much better it is when you are ill.

nursenel · Oct 30, 2001

In my humble opinion, it seems to be ALWAYS the question....what can "nurses" do. WEEELLLLL>>>>>>if the facility turns a blind eye...if the facility is more interested in squeezing more blood out of that turnip to maximize PROFITS.....nursing can do next to nothing. I don't run the train, I merely do as I am told and do my job with the best utilization of what is available to me. Do patients need more? Hell yes they do!!! Only it really is not in my power to give them what they really need. My patients need more staffing so that their needs can be met. My patients need a state surveyor who is more interested in actual patient needs, than in showing that her own job is a necessary function. My patients need a nurse who is not tied up behind the desk doing an unbelievable amount of duplicate paper work. My patients need a nurse who is NOT afraid to come in to work and do her job to the best of her ability. My patients need CNA's who aren't doing doubles every day of the week. My patients need CONTINUITY OF CARE. My patients need employees that make a living wage,,,,,,,,any other questions?

kaycee · Oct 30, 2001

Sorry I didn't answer last night, but I was too tired to think.

I think as has already been stated here that patient and family teaching is a major problem that frustrates most nurses more then anything else. There just isn't enough time for it. I sit on a committee and I listen to nurses that work med surg (I work ED)and that seems to be a major frustration. With limited stays, mounds of paper work and not enough staff, there just isn't enough time to spend teaching pts and their families how to deal with their illnesses. Our hospital used to have pt. educators that were there primarily to teach pt's about colostomy care, diabetes, ect. When they downsized those positions were eliminated. Now it is up to the primary nurse and they are lucky they can give good pt care in the hospital let alone prepare them well enough to care for themselves at home. Also with medicare and certain HMOs home care is frequently cut short before a pt is ready and they end up right back in the hospital.

I also think working in a hospital that has a large elderly population, that nurses don't have the time to properly spend with confused pts. They end up tied in bed or to a chair in the nurses station. No fault of the nurses they have no choice. It's either that or picking them off the floor. These are a couple of the main things, where I feel we as nurses are not able to meet pt needs but I'm sure there are more. Nurses do the best they can these days but without the time and proper staff, delivery of care is not what most nurses feel comfortable with and why alot of us become stressed and burned out with nursing as a whole. Hope this helps with your survey. Good luck.

debbyed · Oct 30, 2001

Plus time for healing touch and conversation.

prmenrs, RN · Oct 30, 2001

My unmet need is a fat-sucking machine that is totally painless, invisible and will take me back to a size 14 within a month, less would be good, too.

I would also like JCAHO, and it's beaurocrats, to try delivering pt. care for a while, and attack the group of people who make it so difficult for us to do it--the insurance companies!!

Thanks for allowing me this moment of steam-venting!!

frappachino · Oct 31, 2001

wow thanks so much u guys! thats what i was looking for. So basically most nburses agree its patient techiing that needs to be better

Cubby · Oct 31, 2001

I'm not sure what area of nursing you are wanting info on, but in long term care the biggest unmet need is keeping our residents minds active. We as nurses are so focused on meeting their physical needs (justifiably so), we neglect their intellectual needs.

And yes, contrary to popular belief,the elderly do have intellectual needs. Even though we have "activities" planned for them these do not extend past 3:00 pm. It makes for a very long and unstimulating day for them.