VFib Arrest after heaven discussion

GilaRRT · Jun 8, 2011

I do not see popping in to say hello and let him know that you are glad he is doing well as any different than when we would stop by when a patient had been transferred to a different floor. Now, if you are popping in to every single patient that is moved than that is a different story but that is not what I am hearing.
The professional therapeutic relationship has gray areas, it is not all black and white. I compare it to a minister who may have had a parishoner in his church for years and the patient relocates to another church due to elderly and transportation issues. Say the ex-parishoner becomes critically ill and is hospitalized, does the minister say , nope , relationship over - it would be unprofessional to visit.
We need to stop selling ourselves short. Our value to patients can be more than medications, VS, dressing changes etc ...sometimes the threrapeutic relationship is quite valuable. As others have said, examine your motives If it is to stop by to check on b/c you did have a connection then do it.
Life is far more gray than black and white.

The patient was transferred to a different hospital, not simply a different floor in the same hospital. I think this creates an additional layer of complexity and it's better to let it go knowing you did a good job.

helicoptergal, BSN, RN · Jun 8, 2011

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LOVE IT. A NEW ACRONYM.

JSlovex2 · Jun 8, 2011

everyone has an opinion about this and they're all very different. i remember the very first patient i felt that i 'bonded' with. when i was leaving my shift and i knew i probably wouldn't see her again (she was going to a LTC facility) i stopped by to tell her goodbye. she hugged me and said, "it's people like you who make times like this bearable." she had tears in her eyes and i knew i'd miss her. i was telling a co-worker several weeks after that how i'd thought about the patient and i wished i could visit her, but it was inappropriate. the co-worker was/is a very experienced nurse and she didn't understand why i didn't go and see her. she said that she would. i still wouldn't do it. i knew then that there would be more instances like that in the future and if i wanted to keep my sanity (and my personal and professional life separate) that i couldn't strike up a friendship with every patient i 'bonded' with. i still remember the patient and probably always will. i'm sure she thinks about me too, and that's good enough.

Lisa321 · Jun 8, 2011

The patient-nurse relationship should be ended after work unless the patient is related to you closely.

curtiv · Jun 17, 2011

Well.... I thought long and hard and yes... I agree... I have to keep him tucked away as a memory. I did not go see

the patient. We both live in the same town and I'm sure... if God or whomever wants us to meet again... we shall do so

at shoprite. lol. thanks for all the thoughts. :yeah:

AgentBeast, MSN, RN · Jun 17, 2011

Belinda Carlisle says heaven is a place on earth.

[YOUTUBE]

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mustlovepoodles, RN · Jun 17, 2011

I don't think you did anything to cause this guy to arrest. In my experience, it's not that unusual for patients to have some sort of premonition, if you will, before a significant event. My grandmother did. She was going in to surgery once and she told the surgeon, "You better watch out today. i'm going to throw you a curve ball." And she did. She collapsed both lungs and went into a coma, which she didn't come out of for 3 weeks. It all turned out well--she quit her 3 pack a day habit while she was sleeping. :up: And she lived another 20 years.

Early in my career I worked on a cancer ward(back in the 70s.) Death in the night was not uncommon. One of the reasons I liked working nights was that patients often wanted to talk about stuff and some of them did seem to know when the end was near.