During SIM usually if a patient is having cardiac/breathing problems, the "patient" will ask, "am I dying?" or "am I going to die?"
what is a good response to this?
not only for SIM, but for the real world! I don't want to say anything that I feel would be assuring but will be frightening or makes them feel worse.
Usually on tests, I see responses such as, "tell me your concerns" type of responses.
I was reading a few posts on reddit how EMS/nurses/other medical staff had patients that said, "I'm dying" or "I'm going to die" to them and they didn't believe it and the next day or hours later, the patient died. Something about them makes them feel calm when they know they're going to die-what the redditors said. It's like the patient KNOWS they are going to die, and that some people truly do believe patients when they say this.
Do you have any stories where you've come across patients like this, and you've believed them or not, how they felt?
My standard response is "Well, we're all headed in that direction."
Of course, depending on the situation and status of the patient. I work with high school kids so more often than not, they are asking this question because they feel awful with the "virus-du-jour".
When I worked in the hospital and a patient had a sense of "impending doom" I darn well listened and took that seriously. I have also reassured patients by saying in response to "Am I going to die?" "We are going to do everything in our power here to prevent that from happening." No false promises, I hear you are scared and you are in the right place for us to try and help you the best we can.
I think it is all relative to the situation and the patient. For the most part, "we're doing everything we can and we're all determined to see you walk out of here", is an honest and straight response.
On the flip-side I ran (literally) into an ER with my 3 year old daughter suffering with stridor: chest sinking in with every breath, blue tinge to her lips, floppy and limp....I really did think she was dying. The receptionist decided to "diagnose" her as having "a cough" (sure, she had croup, but this had gotten way worse)...the point being, to downplay an emergency can be just as frustrating. She delayed treatment because she thought I was over-acting.
If it is very obvious that someone isn't going to survive, what would you all suggest is the best response then? I mean in those situations where it is pretty much 100% likely they're going to pass away.
I had a prof who told me that if you don't know how to answer a patients question, just flip it back on them. "Am I dying?" "Do you believe that you're dying?" That way it just opens it up for the patient to express their concerns/ anxieties.
As a patient I have been in a situation when I had Sepsis (unknown at the time as blood cultures hadn't come back yet) and an Ileus. I was in so much pain and couldn't move after a c section that I was so frightened I asked the nurse \ midwife if I was going to die.
They simply replayed with "we don't do dying on a Saturday"
It was light hearted and lighted my spirits. She was an amazing nurse/midwife.
In a critical situation, I'll say "you're very sick right now, but we're doing our best to get you better".
Anecdotally, I think everyone I've ever had in a critical situation who said "I'm dying" (as opposed to - "am I dying?") was correct and died shortly after..
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
I'm a hospice nurse, so my answer is going to be some type of yes, almost all of the time, with a likely time frame. Because people need to talk about it. And they need to check their thoughts and validate their experience.
If it was a medically stable person (I used to work in psych for example). I would ask for more info. "what happened?” Is my go to expression rather than "why?”
If it was the (unusual for me) situation where I am trying to save someone's life I would say something like "not if we can help it" But I don't work in this arena in general.
I had a prof who told me that if you don't know how to answer a patients question, just flip it back on them. "Am I dying?" "Do you believe that you're dying?" That way it just opens it up for the patient to express their concerns/ anxieties.
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Ellie G
186 Posts
Well I'm Scottish so I can say it. Very true statement though