Have you ever been a patient?

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Specializes in Adult Acute Care Medicine.

The main reason I became a nurse is because I was a pt.

I was very sick, on TPN etc...I had two very long hosptial stays.

The nurses (most of them) seemed like angels to me....and I eventually decided I wanted to 'help' people in the same way. Wow, what a shock it was to learn what nursing is really like! (and that pts/family are not always grateful????:mad:)

Because I spent several weeks as a pt, I feel that I can somewhat understand things from a pt of view (I too was afraid of the dreaded IV 'air bubble' at one time).

Anyway, just curious..... how many nurses have actually been on the other side??

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

I have been a patient a few times. Most recently in March I had my tonsils out. I actually only remeber the preop nurse and the anesthesiologist (sp?) which I knew since he worked in my unit as a resident. I do remember being taken to the OR and having the mask on and being told to take deep breaths and then waking up in recovery.

I have also had some not so good experiences as well. I have to say more good than bad.

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.

i sure have! i was when i was born, of course, then when i was about eighteen months old (i thought that dishwashing liquid would taste good because it also smelled nice!) but i don't remember those times, for obvious reasons.

when i was fifteen, i had ankle surgery. i know i liked the majority of the staff a great deal, except for my last nurse (but, to be fair, i realize now she was in report when i was being discharged, and was eager to leave). the pacu nurses were the best, even though i needed to use the bedpan, wanted my mom and had to puke all in the same five minutes! the morphine pca made me silly but the food made up for it (yes, i thought it was great!) my roommate was a couplet, a mom and her newborn. that was not so fun. (at this hospital, teenage moms are on the peds floor).

later that same year, after i turned sixteen, i was a trauma alert after a rollerblading accident. i remember almost nothing about that day or the weeks that followed. concussions and all that follows are not so great. i know that because of a miscommunication i was left in a hallway for a while, sitting in a wheelchair. my mom ended up finding me, not the escort who was supposed to take me to mri! i couldn't tell you a thing about my nurses but i know that one of the er residents was awesome, great bedside manner, although his attending reminded me of a local famous murderer.

when i was seventeen (yeah, the teen years were a bit of a mess for me!) i was sent to the er by a surgeon who wanted to rule me out for an appy. it turns out i had a ruptured ovarian cyst. i think this was the longest day of my life. everyone was great (especially the nursing staff) except for a cocky resident who gave me ativan because i wanted a female to do my pelvic, not him (he looked all of eleven!) the ativan made me cry...i never want it again!

the day after my 22nd birthday, i had my tonsils taken out. it was a great day, because i was in the department where i'd been an extern. i picked my surgeon, the day and time of my surgery, and saw my old friends. i also found out that day i had passed my boards! (i took my boards august 1st, partied that night, had a quiet birthday august 2nd, then my surgery on the 3rd....i had my friends look up my result online while i was walking my iv pole around the nurses' station).

waaaay longer than i intended, but you asked....

jess

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

I've been a pt in the ER of the hospital I work at twice. Both times good care from nurses and support staff. First time though I had very poor care from the PA. I was unable to rotate my arm, yet he did not order follow-up, or an x-ray. He felt my arm, forced me to move it, told me to take Motrin and sent me home. I've been having chronic pain issues since.

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Specializes in PCT - ER, Ortho, Neuro, Med-Surg.

Yep....my story is here:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/thank-you-all-you-298398.html

Excellent thread, I look forward to the replies!

:)

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Specializes in Jack of all trades, and still learning.

I have a couple of times. The first time I'd had a car accident and required a scope. I couldn't stop crying in preop because I knew everyone who was going to be present at the procedure. The specialist could not understand how I felt. She thought that because I didn't work in OT that I had no right to be upset...

The second time was recently, when I had a BCC removed, and unfortunately it became infected and I required IVABs.

Wonderful nursing care both times; and I required IVAB administration at home as well. Again they were wonderful.

Because I knew my colleagues were running around crazy trying to get their work done, I tried not to bother them. This included when my IV Gemini pump went off, and I always pressed the pause button, increased the VTBI so that it wouldn't run out. Not the rate of course. I think they were grateful. When I was discharged the first time, the doctor told me that they would stop the IV fluids. I immediately turned around and stopped the pump, took out the line, and disconnected it from my arm, leaving the cannula in of course. You should have seen the doctors face!

I would never consider telling a nurse what to do. Nothing worse than looking after a 'know it all'...

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

Yes. Came close to dying a couple of times, too, when I was a youngster. There was a fantastic student nurse named Cindy who was so wonderful to me that I wanted to be just like her.

Then a couple of times in the past ten years. All of my caregivers were excellent to me and I am forever grateful to them. I had a relative stay overnight with me when I was postop so I wouldn't have to bother anyone more than necessary, and I was glad I did because I was completely helpless and I would've hated to put the call light on to ask for a tissue. I was so out of it that I literally couldn't see straight. Anesthesia is a good thing, but I felt oversedated for a week.

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Specializes in pedi, pedi psych,dd, school ,home health.

I have only been a patient a few times; when I had my girls and when I had a hyst were only inpt stays...both births I had excellent care. the hyst...not so much. no offer of antiemetics till 4 am; no help with personal care, forgot my lunch tray as they thought i was discharged; poor pain mgt...i could go on and on. went home 24hrs post vag hyst. got better care from my teenagers at home.

when my dd has been a pt it has been varied..but I always stay to help.

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Specializes in Behavioral Health, Show Biz.

:up:sure.

inpatient gyn surgery---postop iv, foley, oxygen, stitches---ouch!!!:lol2:

i received great care---the nurses were kind, efficient and had phenomenal capacities for humor.

i overheard one nurse say outside of my room,

"oh, she's one of our best patients."

where do i get my license to become a professional patient?:D

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Specializes in Surgery - some medicine.

I have been a patient in 2004 before I began studying for my BScN. I had taken chemistry at night because I was doing the RPN (LPN) program in first year to be able to switch to the BScN, and then my appendix ruptured. Anyways, I was pretty sick for a couple of days and then when feeling better I was so bored. I had good and bad experiences with the nurses, mostly good though.

Good: I had gotten a shot of demerol every night against pain, however, my bum was so sore from them I refused the third night. I asked the nurse for a back rub like A535, but of course, wasn't ordered. I asked her for a hot water bottle, but they don't have any in the hospital. So she went all the way to the ER to get me a hot blanket. Made me feel good :)

Bad: I didn't feel like washing up in the morning on my sickest day and I had a quite obvious strabismus (which I have been operated in 2007) at that time, so the nurse, who was obviously p.o. that I didn't want to be washed up, said to me: I don't wash cross-eyed people anyway. :cry:

They also were nice because I had to write my chemistry exam in the hospital and provided me with a quiet room to do it. They also let me help out quite a bit, did my own I/O on the bedside and helped my bed neighbours with little things (could you get me some water etc) when the nurses were busy.

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Oh yeah.

And I will never downplay how awful an NG tube can be... ugh :(

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Specializes in Peds (previous psyc/SA briefly).

Yep - I was born with an ASD that was pretty large, so had frequent cardiac caths as a kid. I stopped breathing a couple of times before age 2. Good thing my mom is a nurse.

Then had open heart repair when I was 9. I remember my nurses, especially one student nurse who was awesome... and one phlebotomist who was awful. I also remember my roommate who became my friend, who died of childhood cancer a year later. (RIP Bridget!)

I've had a few other minor things - (T+A at 21, miscarriage of an ectopic pregnancy and 2 births - all of which had good and bad nurses) - but my experience as a kid definitely influences what I do every single day.

I remember every day of the 8 I spent at CHOP. I hope that makes me a better nurse. I think it does. But, who knows?

Cool thread!

K

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