Inhumane Treatments

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Specializes in Acute Care Cardiac, Education, Prof Practice.

Sometimes I just don't think doctors take the time to think about the patient at all. Without specific details I just want to mention a recent situation that just breaks my heart.

A patient was debrided at the bedside. Very large abdominal wounds, with wound vacs. Initially he offered to let the RN bolus her off the PCA, but I heard afterwards he even changed his mind about that. (All the nurse could do was stand there at the bedside and help the patient hit the button as often as she could.)

The screams coming from the room were wrenching and sad, though she only cried out loud enough for us to hear twice in the THIRTY minutes he was physically debriding her.

It absolutely broke and enraged my heart. She deserved a fat dose of dilaudid and a shot of versed...at least.

Tait

PS. As always, please feel free to share your stories on the subject.

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Specializes in LTC.

I had the same thing happen to me when I had MRSA. No insurance and 2nd hosp. The nurse told the dr that I hadnt had anything yet and his reply? I dont have time to wait... She held my hand and cried the whole time he was cutting me open on my abdomen. My mother heard me before her elevator doors opened. I was at the end hall in isolation... It was bad. Some ppl need a LOT more compassion...

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Specializes in Cardiac, Pulmonary, Anesthesia.

Yeah, because no nurse has ever been uncompassionate.

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Specializes in NICU.
Yeah, because no nurse has ever been uncompassionate.

Way to miss the point. Also, way to attack a particular nurse who obviously is compassionate with sarcasm.

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Specializes in Acute Care Cardiac, Education, Prof Practice.
Yeah, because no nurse has ever been uncompassionate.

The thread is open to other stories. If you have one feel free to share it.

There are a lot of people out there who don't care, and at times a nurse who ignores her patient and doesn't provide pain relief for an entire shift is just as inhumane as this doctor was.

Tait

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Sounds like that physician needs to be reported.

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Specializes in LTC.

I reread my post and I am confused... I meant to reflect that the nurse was crying for me. She helped me in other ways after I was discharged. The Dr was disciplined and no I didnt sue.

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I'm (almost) a new grad and haven't had any experience with situations like this yet. Hypothetically, couldn't the RN have advocated for her patient better? Couldn't she have pulled in the charge nurse to help intervene? That patient suffered a horrible, traumatic experience: having abdominal surgery/debridement (same thing kinda) without good painkillers/anesthesia?!?! Hello! Doctors are not God. Nurses need to step up to the plate, grow a pair, and advocate for their patients better. Hey, let me cut you open and scrape your insides while you scream in pain and terror for 30 minutes. Really sick.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

As a student, I watched a DPM aggressively debride a huge diabetic foot ulcer... without any premedication at all. It almost made me ill (I turned white and got all woozy). It wasn't the gore that got me squeamish, it was the pain of the scalpel scraping off the tissue.

This was the same jerk who D/C'd a patient whose foot he'd just amputated for a 10-hour drive with no pain meds at all.

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Specializes in Acute Care Cardiac, Education, Prof Practice.
I'm (almost) a new grad and haven't had any experience with situations like this yet. Hypothetically, couldn't the RN have advocated for her patient better? Couldn't she have pulled in the charge nurse to help intervene? That patient suffered a horrible, traumatic experience: having abdominal surgery/debridement (same thing kinda) without good painkillers/anesthesia?!?! Hello! Doctors are not God. Nurses need to step up to the plate, grow a pair, and advocate for their patients better. Hey, let me cut you open and scrape your insides while you scream in pain and terror for 30 minutes. Really sick.

The nurse assigned to her was a new graduate and I was the charge nurse. It was at the end of a long night shift for us and he basically just breezed in and said "come on, let's go" and did the procedure during shift change.

In hindsight I think we both know we would have refused to assist until she was given proper medication, but unfortunately the situation did not work out the way it should have. Basically a learning experience for both of us.

Tait

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. Nurses need to step up to the plate, grow a pair, and advocate for their patients better.

The doctor who refuses to write an order for pain medication because he doesn't have time won't respond to "better" advocacy. The nurse could have called a superior, but by the time things played out, the procedure would have been done.

Exactly how would YOU have made this situation better?

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Specializes in LPN, Peds, Public Health.

Oh my... that is horrible.

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