Trauma Naked?

[mark90]

I was in an MVA a month ago. Paramedics cut off my shirt, and strapped me on a backboard. When I got to the E.R, I was conscious, with no visible injuries, just a bit of a headache. Yet, I was almost immediately stripped completely naked. I laid there fully nude for what seemed like an eternity while I was examined. Then the nurse put a cup over my member and told me to pee. I wasn't able to, so they put a catheter in me.

I asked them to cover me several times, but the trauma team refused, even when i was given an ultra sound i was not covered up.

This just doesn't seem normal to me. Is this standard procedure or did I just get stuck with a bad trauma team.

Please help me figure this one out.

Thanks,

Mark.

[Agnus]

I a trauma you will be stripped. It is not pleasant and we do understand that. It is necessary. You will be kept uncovered as injuries are not alway apparent on first look.

Before you file complaints consider what is important to you. Suppose you were injured and they looked and covered you because they did not see anything obvious right away. Then something began to develop but you were hidden under a blanket. When they pulled back the blanket you had hemorraged. Sorry this HAS happened. Or any number of abnormal assessment elements are missed because you can not be visualized over time. It is not just bleeding.

Things often do not show up immediately. The more eyes on you the more you are likely to not have something go unnoticed. The longer they can visualize you without interuption the more likely things will not be missed.

Though it seemed like a long time to you it really is not in terms of what might be hidden under covers.

Exposure is #1 prime importance in a fresh trauma. You can not peak then cover because you Will miss something.

[grandee3]

I a trauma you will be stripped. It is not pleasant and we do understand that. It is necessary. You will be kept uncovered as injuries are not alway apparent on first look.

Before you file complaints consider what is important to you. Suppose you were injured and they looked and covered you because they did not see anything obvious right away. Then something began to develop but you were hidden under a blanket. When they pulled back the blanket you had hemorraged. Sorry this HAS happened. Or any number of abnormal assessment elements are missed because you can not be visualized over time. It is not just bleeding.

Things often do not show up immediately. The more eyes on you the more you are likely to not have something go unnoticed. The longer they can visualize you without interuption the more likely things will not be missed.

Though it seemed like a long time to you it really is not in terms of what might be hidden under covers.

Exposure is #1 prime importance in a fresh trauma. You can not peak then cover because you Will miss something.

They could have covered him with a towel.

[leslie :-D]

after they were done with their initial assessment, yes, covering you with a towel would have been considerate and appropriate...

unless your injury was on your genitals, there is no solid reason why you should have remained exposed.

your catheter was in, going to ct scan...

yes, a towel.

i'd write that letter too.

leslie

[birdgardner]

FWIW, I know a group of nurses gave a real tongue lashing to a couple of the residents at our local ER for leaving a teenage girl naked, and she was unconscious and unaware.

As for the danger of hemorrhage, a single white sheet over the patient, properly arranged, won't hide a whole lot of blood, and an alert, oriented patient with full sensation like the OP is going to tell you if he feels a sudden warm rush or pooling.

He should definitely file formal complaint with every appropriate agency.

[RN1982]

The OP can go ahead and write letters and complain, but it will probably fall on deaf ears anyhow. I agree he should have been covered up with a towel or blanket. Anyhow, my point is that administration will look at the situation like "well we saved your life anyhow'.

[leslie :-D]

The OP can go ahead and write letters and complain, but it will probably fall on deaf ears anyhow. I agree he should have been covered up with a towel or blanket. Anyhow, my point is that administration will look at the situation like "well we saved your life anyhow'.

you may be right.

op, perhaps you could write a letter to jcaho (if hosp is accredited by them?).

jcaho would care about the dignity of a pt.

make that stink to whoever will listen.

leslie

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

The OP can go ahead and write letters and complain, but it will probably fall on deaf ears anyhow. I agree he should have been covered up with a towel or blanket. Anyhow, my point is that administration will look at the situation like "well we saved your life anyhow'.

On the other hand, administration may come down on the nurses that saved the guy and worry more about "customer service" and Press Gainey scores that what was really going on in the real world.

[RN1982]

On the other hand, administration may come down on the nurses that saved the guy and worry more about "customer service" and Press Gainey scores that what was really going on in the real world.

Oh yeah, if administration got wind of it, it will always be the nurses fault. No matter what.

[babynurselsa, RN]

I am going to go out on a limb and assume it must have been a signifigant MVC to have the trauma team activated We do not work all MVC pts as a trauma.

I will say the same thing about an immediate u/s.

We will always cut the clothing off a suspected or known trauma patient. We need to examine every inch of a pt to make sure nothing is missed.

Usually an effort is made to quickly cover a patient with warm blankets to prevent chilling. It can indeed seem like an eternity when you are the one layed out on the table.

For everyone coming out to bust the chops of the staff, let's remember that OP stated "It felt like an eternity". Could it have been a matter of minutes or even moments???? I have seen a pt stripped, head to toe visual, foley and abd u/s done in less than 5-10 minutes.

Remeber the patient who sued over the trauma rectal exam believed he was alert and conscious but had sustained a head injury............

[RN1982]

I am going to go out on a limb and assume it must have been a signifigant MVC to have the trauma team activated We do not work all MVC pts as a trauma.

I will say the same thing about an immediate u/s.

We will always cut the clothing off a suspected or known trauma patient. We need to examine every inch of a pt to make sure nothing is missed.

Usually an effort is made to quickly cover a patient with warm blankets to prevent chilling. It can indeed seem like an eternity when you are the one layed out on the table.

For everyone coming out to bust the chops of the staff, let's remember that OP stated "It felt like an eternity". Could it have been a matter of minutes or even moments???? I have seen a pt stripped, head to toe visual, foley and abd u/s done in less than 5-10 minutes.

Remeber the patient who sued over the trauma rectal exam believed he was alert and conscious but had sustained a head injury............

Yeah I agree with everything you said. I was about to post that we don't know exactly what went on so we shouldn't bash the staff. All we have is the OPs side of the story. You're right it must have been a significant MVA for the trauma team to be activated. What I really want to say to the OP is and I'll get flames for this and I don't care, but it was a month ago according to your post, you're in one piece. You made it out of the MVA alive. Yeah, a few people saw you naked but you had a pretty bad accident from what you said in your post and the docs and nurses needed to do their job. It was a month ago. Don't dwell on it.

[birdgardner]

On the other hand, administration may come down on the nurses that saved the guy and worry more about "customer service" and Press Gainey scores that what was really going on in the real world.

To be the devil's advocate here, it doesn't sound like they "saved" the guy. It sounds like they did a trauma assessment because there was significant damage to the motor vehicle, but that the patient was NOT significantly hurt and has no grounds for being particularly grateful. Maybe the OP wouldn't mind giving us an idea of the severity of his injury?

Now let's talk emotional trauma - the patient is shaken up from the accident, strapped to a board and immobilized, stripped naked, catheter stuck up his urethra without a by your leave, maybe gets a rectal exam, no one covers him when he asks, he's powerless - the aftereffects of that could be lasting and a whole lot worse for him than the physical effects of the accident.

You trauma nurses have seen it all and done it all and it means nothing to you any more, but it means a LOT to the patient. He should have had at least a towel over his loins right away, and no one should be telling him "just get over it."

I've been a EMT for a relatively short time and in nursing I'm still a student and you can tell me I don't know the real world yet - but anyone who says that is losing sight of what is real for the patients.

[RN1982]

You trauma nurses have seen it all and done it all and it means nothing to you any more, but it means a LOT to the patient. He should have had at least a towel over his loins right away, and no one should be telling him "just get over it."

You are correct that he should have been covered. But I do not agree with your perception of Trauma nurses. I have seen it all, I have done it all and it MEANS something to me. Since when do trauma nurses not care about their patients?