Glen Beck's hospital experience

Published

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/3502/

What do you all think of this? There are several things about his tirade which rub me the wrong way but I really want to hear what you all have to say.

Specializes in med-surg,pedi,ortho,one-day,rehab,ER.

I saw this guy dithering to Robin Givens on the morning news show. Had a lot of trouble following him. However, I think someone 1) overmedicated and 2) erred in allowing him to go home, if in fact he didn't stay overnight the night of surgery.

As a profession, I know doctors "underprescribe", nurses "undermedicate", and patients "under request," so I try to be non-judgemental about pain as reported by patient's--even if I don't actually believe the report. I would still medicate. But, it'd ridiculous to send someone home with all the different sedating meds on board.

It seems as if Mr. Beck was not told much of what to expect after the surgery about his pain and the drugs.

It also sounds as if he was seriously uninformed--and that fault lies with him and his surgeon(s).

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Specializes in Staff nurse.

Could his psychosis actually have been etoh withdrawal?

Was the ER nurse assessing the pt. ability to get up by himself? Was his wife one of those "I can do it leave us alone" types?

And how many of us have put O2 nasal cannula on a pt. who "couldn't breathe" for the psychological benefits (they're satting at 96% on room air and keep repeating they can't breathe, which obviously, they are breathing)?

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As I read the many responses, I am astounded that not many seem to realize that no matter what we think as nurses, what Glen Beck wrote was his, the PATIENT's experience. We are so busy making excuses for the shortcomings of the hospital staff that we miss thet big picture. He was in pain. He did not receive the help he needed. All it would have taken was someone, early on, asking him..."How can I help you?" and then following through. What I hear in his blog is that NO ONE SEEMED TO CARE. It sounded as if for many at that facility it was ' just a job'. He seemed to understand the need to wait. What he did NOT seem to appreciate was the feeling that he was being ignored, that he was not important. Maybe it is time to review Maslow's hierarchy of needs. And also remember.....it's not about US, it is about the patients. I believe that he had real complaints....the person who did not help him walk, the clerk who did not go the extra step to get him help...the nurse who did not listen to his fears about his breathing stopping. And did anyone take the time to educate him to his meds? All I am asking is for us to remember that the PATIENTS do not know what we know and we must listen to them, and remember that being a nurse is about them, not us. Not that we sacrifice ourselves, but we must remember the heart and soul of nursing.....or get out. And in the end, the patients experience is real to them, no matter how we see it. So it is time to stop making excuses and to take personal responsiblity for the shortcomings of our profession. It is time to STEP UP and be accountable. Sorry for the rant

, I just have a thing about blaming the patient, especially where pain is concerned.

It may have been HIS perception that no one cared, we were not there so I guess we, me included, cant really say what in reality transpired.I will speak for myself and say that as a nurse it is hard to be always as compassionate as we need to be, but having said that, there ARE those patients that demand extra attention, taking away time from sicker patients, a nurse has to make a judgement call and decide who NEEDS the most attention.Nursing is a tough sometimes thankless profession, I wont blame the nurse without more proof than what Glenn beck said.
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It may have been HIS perception that no one cared, we were not there so I guess we, me included, cant really say what in reality transpired.I will speak for myself and say that as a nurse it is hard to be always as compassionate as we need to be, but having said that, there ARE those patients that demand extra attention, taking away time from sicker patients, a nurse has to make a judgement call and decide who NEEDS the most attention.Nursing is a tough sometimes thankless profession, I wont blame the nurse without more proof than what Glenn beck said.

I agree.

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As I read the many responses, I am astounded that not many seem to realize that no matter what we think as nurses, what Glen Beck wrote was his, the PATIENT's experience. We are so busy making excuses for the shortcomings of the hospital staff that we miss thet big picture. He was in pain. He did not receive the help he needed. All it would have taken was someone, early on, asking him..."How can I help you?" and then following through. What I hear in his blog is that NO ONE SEEMED TO CARE. It sounded as if for many at that facility it was ' just a job'. He seemed to understand the need to wait. What he did NOT seem to appreciate was the feeling that he was being ignored, that he was not important. Maybe it is time to review Maslow's hierarchy of needs. And also remember.....it's not about US, it is about the patients. I believe that he had real complaints....the person who did not help him walk, the clerk who did not go the extra step to get him help...the nurse who did not listen to his fears about his breathing stopping. And did anyone take the time to educate him to his meds? All I am asking is for us to remember that the PATIENTS do not know what we know and we must listen to them, and remember that being a nurse is about them, not us. Not that we sacrifice ourselves, but we must remember the heart and soul of nursing.....or get out. And in the end, the patients experience is real to them, no matter how we see it. So it is time to stop making excuses and to take personal responsiblity for the shortcomings of our profession. It is time to STEP UP and be accountable. Sorry for the rant

, I just have a thing about blaming the patient, especially where pain is concerned.

All true, and you make very good points. However, this is a forum where we are discussing our reactions to what Mr. Beck wrote, not acting as his actual nurses at the moment. Discussing his column after the fact and actually providing nursing care for him are two different things. I found his column to be barely readable and insulting, as did a number of other people here. Should any of us have Mr. Beck as a patient in the future, I think it's an extremely safe bet that not one of us would skimp on his care because of what he's written. (If we even remember it...I have a feeling everyone would be too busy to retrieve such memories from the mental archives. ;-))

If what Mr. Beck outlined really happened, he has every right in the world to address, in a logical and clear manner, his concerns with the management of the people who were seemingly ignoring him. If he chooses to not do that and instead just wants to cast aspersions publically...well, I'll draw my own conclusions about that.

When people choose to be in the public eye and choose to lay out their opinions for all the world to see, they open themselves up to the fact that not everyone is going to agree with their point of view. And I realize that not everyone here is going to agree with my point of view, either, but I'm totally certain you'd still give me awesome care if you were my nurse. ;-)

Peace! :cheers:

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ok, i'll 'still' let the human side of me dictate my knee-jerk response:

i read the story once again and my feelings remain.

the guy is a drama queen.

maybe it's because i have little tolerance for whiners, but this guy has lost total perspective.

no, he was not going to die.

i have a hard time believing he was in any resp distress- nothing dangerous, anyway.

'maybe'....he was even med-seeking?

who knows?

this story leaves much room for conjecture.

if it's true, i find it inexcusable for a nurse to drum his fingers while watching an incapacitated pt.

that's just downright shabby.

but his story is filled w/much emotion and no objectivity.

combine that w/his delusions and paranoia, i have a hard time feeling sympathy.

and yes steph, whoever it was, i would definitely feel the same way, if they had told their story in the same, histrionic manner.

leslie

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I just want to restate what I said earlier and agree with what others have said about the fear of not breathing that he had. For clarification for those who are reading this who aren't in the health-care field, for nursing students and new nurses:

For a patient to spend all night in pain and scared that they will stop breathing is REALLY sad. Even if they're dramatic jerks (which may or may not have been the case with him). Nurses are well trained to assess for respiratory adequacy and medication dose appropriateness. A good nurse would have already assessed his breathing and oxygenation and already double or even triple checked the medication order and appropriateness for that patient (a PCA is usually checked by TWO nurses). He/she then would have educated the patient on their medication, their plans for frequent and thorough monitoring of the patient throughout the night, and any other continuous monitoring that was going on (did he have a sat probe on? it sounds like he should have with 1/2 the narcs in the hospital on board like he claims! that would be something to let him know...) For heavens' sakes...put 2L oxygen on him to make him feel comfortable. Truly, it's not that hard to assure a patient that they will be OKAY and you will watch out for them. He might have gotten some comfort and sleep that night if his nurse had done that.

As others have pointed out, he probably doesn't know the whole story because he was (probably inappropriately) narc'd out of his mind. But I just felt sad thinking about a patient who was scared like that all night.

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i cannot believe he was given fentanyl patches. have you all read fda SECOND warning on these? http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/fentanylpatch122107.html

only to be used AFTER at least a week of 24 hours a day of opiate use. was this the case with beck? not to be used for post op pain. doctors can ignore 2 fda warnings? who do they answer to? THE DRUG REPS. don't judge this comment until you read for youself the fda statement. doctors continue to mis-prescribe patches after first warning in 2005.time for defensive doctoring classes:smackingf:madface:

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hard time believing resp distress? read http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/InfoSheets/HCP/fentanyl_2007HCP.htm and http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/advisory/fentanyl_2007.htm

has killed many. doctors ignoring 2 fda warnings. hypoventilation (8 breaths or less a minute)known possible effect. it is a mistake to think a doctor always does right thing or second warning would've been unneeded.

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Regardless of his perception of what took place at the hospital, it's hard for me to fathom that none of the staff, except for one or so, would have given him good care at some point.

I think Mr. Beck was anxious and frightened of being in pain and what pain he might experience at home after discharge, his next bowel movement, his past alcohol history surely played a part in pain control, his not being properly educated prior to and after surgery.

I do have many complaints about the hospital I work at but I do indeed believe that this truly would never happen to a patient at my hospital, he might perceive it, but it wouldn't actually happen.

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Oh....he also said he was given some medication that began with an N...perhaps Narcan??

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PSYCH, PP, CEN.

A supposedly educated man should be able to gather his thoughts together and write a more coherent article than this. It is hard to take him seriously with the incoherent way he writes. Maybe his writers are out on strike and he had to do this himself.

I had hemrrhoid sugery then went to work same day so I don't have a lot of sympathy for him.

If he has legitimate complaints about what happened lets hope he uses his fame and fortune to help promote meaningful dialoque about our healthcare system.

If he doesn't then I will always think that he is just a whiny wimpy diva trying to promote his show and book by gaining sympathy.

Of course there are many people who will buy into his bullcrap.

Time will tell

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