Love the patient...hate the family

[RickLP]

So I'm almost a year into garduation working in CCU, I like my job for the most part.

Today, I experienced something that I would expect to experience as I progress.

My patient was a 80 something years old and had a valvuloplasty, still a bit loopy from the haldol he received.

Came back from the cath lab and was on a clear liquid diet with aspiration precaution noted by the Pulmonary team. The patient has had a productive cough all day with thick brownish discharge and tinge of blood (heparin drip).

Family fed the patient some blue gatorade without my knowledge and the patient began coughing up blue phlegm.

I was already on alert for aspiration but decided to watch it more carefully.

I gave the patient his PO meds and he coughed during swallowing.

After I left, the patient received some coffee and not even 20 seconds after drinking it, the patient coughed and I suctioned brown, watery phlegm.

I called the pulmonary team back with this finding and they advised me to place the patient NPO and a swallow test will be done tomorrow.

I advised the family of what is going on and the wife became furious.

She had it in her head that I was the one that made the decision for the patient to be NPO and that I was "the devil".

I offered some sponge soaked in water so the patient could swab it around his mouth and help the dryness.

It didn't appeal to her and she said "who wants a stupid sponge in their mouth."

Oh how i HATE families at bedside...

[itsmejuli]

:grn:

As my mother always said...in one ear and out the other.

Just ignore it.

[Patchouli]

indeed, the family can sometimes be your biggest challenge.

[southernbelle08]

If there is one thing I have learned -- family members would almost rather their poor loved one choke than to not feed them or give liquids. It is just something about it. When you make someone NPO and they cannot eat/drink, the family freaks and acts like that will be thing that surely does them in. Nevermind the fact of giving them food/drink could cause more harm! You can explain it until you are blue in the face and still they continue to question things & express their concern over the patient being NPO.

Just ignore it. Nothing else to do!

[fiveofpeep]

uggh I so know what you mean. I've been having crazy family members left and right for the last month. I dont know where they are coming from all at once but geeze, leave me alone so I can do my job and stop asking me to do things that arent the priority.