Please share when your intuition has saved or helped a patient or when has your intuition helped in other areas of your life?
What is intuition? How would you describe it? How could others develop theirs?
Have you ever felt what your patient is feeling? Chest pain when they have chest pain? etc. Are you too empathic? If so, how do you manage it, so it doesn't disempower you?
Or is intuition really experience along with knowledge?
I could say a lot of these stories and trust me I DO believe in it. I know for sure that 3 times I did saved lives of my patients telling to docs something is wrong And of course they would ask you for Vital signs >>) I had to yell on phone to one doc : do not ask me for a vital signs come and check this person for God sake .. ( Vital signs were good pt bled internally and was compensating!)Another time , I did not like what resident said as a reason for a pain of my patient so I called his primary and again had to say: I FEEL IT SIR! Please come check it for your self or send somebody else...( It was PE !)
Yes, problem is people think you are weird or you are afraid to admit you feel something , but once you accept it , not so bad friend that makes my hair goes up.
That is awesome that you stood up for your intuition, so to speak. Do you feel that you have been intuitive your whole life? When did you first learn to trust it? I would love to hear anything else you would like to share about developing it or whatever, Thanks!!
I had a pt who was in a bad way,CVA, 70s, very doom and gloom guy and family (worry about anything but SO supportive-never seen the like since-always had a family member stay overnite etc, 8 kids, wife) on rehab a long time. To make long story short, I havent been nurse very long 2.5 yrs. but I remember another RN had this pt with a AAA, and not a surgical candidate. One day he slipped out of his chair and while getting him up I saw a rigid vertical bulge in his abdomen-to the left of his well midline/bellybutton and I remember thinking, is that from the AAA? Well back to my pt he had been complaining of stomach pain, and was very pale, They did some diagnostic and I remember it said there was a mass there so many millimeters long but that isnt why they did the diagnostic. Why did they do it...oh I think he had BAD backpain so they were checking that---YES he had disc probs. I remember asking the doc about it and whether I should give coumadin (maybe thinking it was a AAA) and he had low RBCs? and he said no go ahead and give it (I WORRIED ABOUT BLEEDING). I asked him about it again later, thinking maybe he didn't read the rpt closely since that isnt what they were looking for ( IAM SORRY - I CANT REMEMBER MOST OF IT ALL) anyway again he said no go ahead. ANYWAY days later pt went home, the next day came into ER, BP plummeted, very pale, abd hurting, and bleeding. He died. Now I have another pt currently with that same bulge when his intra-abd pressure rises> DOES ANYONE HAVE AN IDEA IF THE BULGE IS INDICATIVE OF AAA? This pt I have now is 92,and not surgical candidate but the same bulge is there and nor was the other pt I had, I just wonder if the Doc knew it was there but didn't want the family to worry about a ticking time bomb (they were very very 'get in here now to check his .......fill in the blank-and I am wondering if he felt telling the family would just interfere in their last days together, with worrying-instead he sent him home to be with his family? ANYWAY HAS ANYONE ELSE SEEN A BULGE LIKE THAT? SHOULD I WORRY ? SORRY JUST GOT OFF WORK-MY WRITING IS POOR>THAT IS my INTUITION WORKING OVERTIME NOW!!!!! :monkeydance:
Wow, this will keep you up all day!! I don't know if a bulge in the abdomen is a AAA or not but if you feel that the docs might be missing something, then you are probably right!! You may want to go to a coworker or supervisor and tell them exactly what you are seeing and even relate it to that former patient. You may even want to call someone today so that you can let it go. Doctors miss things all the time. I think you are right to worry about it. The family should know so they can make decisions about what to do and what to watch for, because if that thing goes, he won't be long for this world. Let us know what happens.
As soon as the patient lay down, she "died." She became unresponsive and I could not get a pulse. However, she remained paced to the monitor. We started compressions even though she maintained perfect little complexes on the monitors, according to the monitor tech.
She was successfully revived and sent to the Unit. But we never would've known there was a problem until someone actually visualized her, because the monitor didn't give us any clues with this one.
Oh my God, that is terrifying!! I definitely have hairs standing up on end on this one, way to go!!!
I was helping another nurse with her patient who had just come back from hemodialysis who was very sleepy. Too sleepy, we were having to shake him to keep him breathing. I had no idea of this person's history, had never seen him before. He had not been taking any strong pain meds, or anything unusual medication wise, but I had this little intuitive voice in my head say-- "Narcan." It truly didn't even look like narcan would be indicated looking at the medication sheet of this patient, and at the time I wasn't very familiar with it, but we called the nephrologist who said "give him Narcan" and he woke right up.
I ponder on this occasionally, it truly was an odd thing.
Holy smokes!! That is incredible. Have you made sense of that for yourself? Has anything like that happened again? That sounds like something that should be welcomed and expanded upon, if that is possible!! Thanks for sharing that.!!!
Wow, I love your philosophy!! To "be a channel for whatever the patient's outcome is to be"!! that is very cool!! How did you come to that approach? Do you remember? Hey, I totally believe in angels!!
I just believe that each patient's experience is different and theirs alone. Some are good, some are painful, some are dying. I feel that by acknowledging my part in their experience, by clearing my head and consciously opening myself to be a channel for their experience, I let them keep their stuff, and I keep my stuff out of it. That way I'm not an obstruction in their experience. I guess it's Karmic. If I were not technically proficient, it would seem like a cop-out. But I am very proficient. I know I have the skills. You bring your skills to the bedside, but they don't always work for that person.
I just believe that each patient's experience is different and theirs alone. Some are good, some are painful, some are dying. I feel that by acknowledging my part in their experience, by clearing my head and consciously opening myself to be a channel for their experience, I let them keep their stuff, and I keep my stuff out of it. That way I'm not an obstruction in their experience. I guess it's Karmic. If I were not technically proficient, it would seem like a cop-out. But I am very proficient. I know I have the skills. You bring your skills to the bedside, but they don't always work for that person.
That is very, very cool. Death isn't always the enemy it is made out to be in the hospital environment. I really like that, the clearing yourself for their experience. It is far from a cop out, it is honoring what is happening in that person's experience, at that time, is that right? It is such an incredibly respectful way of being with your patients. I hope you don't mind if I use it? I wish I could take all the posters on this thread and have us all write a book about this. It would be very powerful about the experience of nursing. Don't you think?
Another nurse and I heard a "code" called for Nuclear Medicine. We said 'who do we have that's for NM today."
Ahhh the lady in 23 was to go to NM later in the day. We went in her room and she was there, BUT NOT RESPONSIVE and NOT Breathing.
Started CPR and called the code. No one came. Called again....no one came. We were almost exhausted when someone came. It seems that the beepers going off twice in a few seconds made people think it was a duplicate call. That was before voice beepers.
We were exhaustd but our lady made it. Something told us to go check on the lady in 23.
It sure isn't experience. I'd only been on the job a month in a neuro unit as a new grad when a patient got transferred in. He'd been hit by a bus, LOC for 30 minutes, but had been doing fine. His other history was of Parkinson's. He was exactly 2 weeks out. He was awake with slow responses, oriented to person only, which was his baseline.
I just didn't like the way he looked or the way he was breathing, so I ran to the doc in the box.
The doc grumbled and had me take him down for a CT scan. The scan showed a massive subarachnoid bleed and it was estimated he was MINUTES from herniation when they evacuated it in surgery.
So I don't know what it is, but whenever I've had a bad feeling about somebody, it's generally panned out. It's only a sometime thing, some have had bad outcomes without my prescience. Usually another nurse has had a bad feeling about them, though.
It sure isn't experience. I'd only been on the job a month in a neuro unit as a new grad when a patient got transferred in. He'd been hit by a bus, LOC for 30 minutes, but had been doing fine. His other history was of Parkinson's. He was exactly 2 weeks out. He was awake with slow responses, oriented to person only, which was his baseline.
I just didn't like the way he looked or the way he was breathing, so I ran to the doc in the box.
The doc grumbled and had me take him down for a CT scan. The scan showed a massive subarachnoid bleed and it was estimated he was MINUTES from herniation when they evacuated it in surgery.
So I don't know what it is, but whenever I've had a bad feeling about somebody, it's generally panned out. It's only a sometime thing, some have had bad outcomes without my prescience. Usually another nurse has had a bad feeling about them, though.
That is truly incredible!! Have you been intuitive your whole life or does it show up more around life and death matters?
my grandma lived alone and i liked to go and check on her as often as i could. other family members did the same as well. one monday my grandma knew i was coming and i usually give her a call and let her know that i am there when i am at the corner of her street so she can unlock the door.on the way there i kept thinking something is going to happen you know that weird feeling. i just kept thinking 911, 911. i called her from the corner and let her know i was almost there she said okay she would unlock the door.
i got there, the door was still locked, i called her on the phone no answer, (that's when i knew something wasn't right.) i walked around the house banging on doors and windows yelling for her.....nothing. i went to the front door again i could see the screen door was locked but the main door was opened a crack. i yanked on the screen door as hard as i could and got the door open. i ran in the house yelling "gram, gram where are you?" nothing.
i run back to her room she is wedged with her shoulder stuck underneath the bed, sweaty, pale, smelling of malodorus urine, and very confused. i did a quick assessment sat her up and called 911. took her blood sugar 46. she was taken to the hospital and dx with urosepsis.
she now lives in assisted living and is doing great.
my grandma lived alone and i liked to go and check on her as often as i could. other family members did the same as well. one monday my grandma knew i was coming and i usually give her a call and let her know that i am there when i am at the corner of her street so she can unlock the door.on the way there i kept thinking something is going to happen you know that weird feeling. i just kept thinking 911, 911. i called her from the corner and let her know i was almost there she said okay she would unlock the door.
i got there, the door was still locked, i called her on the phone no answer, (that's when i knew something wasn't right.) i walked around the house banging on doors and windows yelling for her.....nothing. i went to the front door again i could see the screen door was locked but the main door was opened a crack. i yanked on the screen door as hard as i could and got the door open. i ran in the house yelling "gram, gram where are you?" nothing.
i run back to her room she is wedged with her shoulder stuck underneath the bed, sweaty, pale, smelling of malodorus urine, and very confused. i did a quick assessment sat her up and called 911. took her blood sugar 46. she was taken to the hospital and dx with urosepsis.
she now lives in assisted living and is doing great.
wow, another incredible story. i think these stories would make a great book!!! have you had other intuitive experiences?
deeDawntee, RN
1,579 Posts
That is awesome that you stood up for your intuition, so to speak. Do you feel that you have been intuitive your whole life? When did you first learn to trust it? I would love to hear anything else you would like to share about developing it or whatever, Thanks!!