"The Case for Presence"

My grandfather was recently in the hospital due to a heart related issue. He had just left no longer than a week before so he was pretty bummed about having to go back. I recently visited him along with my parents just before I left for school. It was obvious when we walked in that he was nervous of the diagnosis and depressed about being there. However, once we were there for a while his demeanor totally began to change. He started smiling, laughing, and was having a really good time. By the time we left he was the Robert Williams that I have known my whole life. If God ever created what I consider to be a "character" he would be it. He is the definition of a people person. I have always said that he could make good conversation with a tree, it's just how the guy is wired. Anyways, this situation made me think of how important presence and human interaction is to the patient. Many nurses either have great people skills and not so great nursing skills or high nursing skills and the people skills of a brick. It is always refreshing to see a nurse that has an even balance. Some patient's have no one to care for them or speak to. I see so many patient's everyday who come straight from a nursing home (which I can't help but think of as an orphange for senior citizens in large part). We need to do everything that we can to make the hospital experience as positive as possible. This includes sitting with patient's, listening to their stories, and providing positive feedback. I have run across so many people who just want someone to listen to them. So the next time you put your putting scrubs on remember that today you can make a difference simply by providing presence.

I'm putting away my soap box until next time,

~N

"Whatever Happened To Compassion?"

I had worked with Joe (name changed) for some time in the ER. I always had great respect for him and he was what I considered a man's man. He's tall, muscular, has sweet skin art, and had always had my back when a hostile situation arose. My view of him went completely upside down last July. It had been a long day, the ER had been packed consistently for 9 hours, and we were more than ready to go home 3 hours before we were to clock out. I could tell that Joe was having a bad day to begin with so I tried to be as helpful as I could to not make it any worse. When 930 rolled around the double doors opened and the EMT's brought in a women in her late 40's who had attempted suicide by slitting both of her wrists. Apparently there had been a domestic dispute with her daughter and her solution to get back at her was to take her own life. Joe and I assessed the situation and he took one look at me and said "What a *$#@&$ waste of flesh". He then proceeded to get two by fours and clean off the dried blood. Afterwards he got a roll a gauze and started wrapping it around her wrists. He was being very rough with her during this time and I could tell that he was silently judging her as well. All the respect that I had for Joe dissipated on that day. I couldn't believe that someone caring for another in crisis could be so heartless. Right then and there I made a promise to myself that everyday before I come to work I would pray that God would give me the wisdom and patience to make my patients' stay as comfortable as possible. I also promised myself that as soon as I walked through those double doors that is where my problems would stay and they would not be brought into the hospital with me. Now I won't lie to you....I have my moments and there are some patient's who absolutely make me want to raise my fists in anger and scream to the heavens. Why don't I? Because it isn't about me....its totally about them. These people are at their worst, their stressed, and sometimes you have to be the whipping boy/girl. I could easily give them a dose of attitude but that would only exacerbate the sitaution and accomplish nothing in the end. So to wrap this up, those of you in any healthcare setting remember why you got into this business to begin with and the yearning desires to help others that drove you to it.
God Bless,
~N