Brace yourselves....You've had your warning.
Here's the thing. We bring people into the hospital to help them get healthier and stronger. Then we feed them hospital food. The food that is brought doesn't look very tasty. It doesn't smell very tasty. And it's not very healthy. If someone is supposed to eat soft foods that are easy on their stomach, they bring them mush. If someone has an early breakfast tray so they can go to their test, they get a muffin and a little box of cereal. There are extremely limited options for anyone who has dietary restrictions. If a patient is admitted at night and missed dinner, their only options are a cold sandwich (if they're lucky), applesauce, and graham crackers. When they go home, we tell them all of these things that they're not allowed to eat anymore. If they're a diabetic, it seems like we're telling them not to eat anything. If they have heart failure, they have to limit how much water they drink every day. And that's all of the information we're giving them. The system we have stinks.
Imagine a 50 year old man who just had his first heart attack and suddenly you are told to stop drinking, to cut out processed foods including all fast food, to limit sweets, and to eat more vegetables. If he doesn't cook and travels a lot, chances are that he's not going to be able to follow those instructions very well. And why would he want to anyway? Or imagine a 80 year old woman who lives in a nursing home. She eats what is placed in front of her. She doesn't have many options.
There are dietitians who talk to people about nutrition in the hospital, but there might be 3 or 4 covering over 700 beds. There is no way they will talk to even a quarter of them. My mom is a dietitian, so I might be a little biased, but I think that there should be WAY more emphasis placed on nutrition than there is currently. I know that I can totally tell a difference in the way I feel by what I eat. If I eat out a lot, I have less energy, my stomach makes weird noises, and I feel gross. When I eat healthy, I feel good about myself, my skin looks better, and I have more energy.
Also, eating well doesn't have to include only buying quinoa or kale. There are ways of giving your body good nutrients without spending half your paycheck. On top of that, I actually like the food I eat. It tastes good. If people in the hospital were truly educated on how to eat better and were fed good food in the hospital, I think it would make a huge difference. I think it's important to go beyond telling them what they can't eat, and to start telling them how to shop for food, how to cook tasty but healthy meals, and how to make do with the food they are allowed to have.
*Inhales* *Exhales*
That's all.
Sorry I'm not more interesting, but I had to get this off my chest. Thanks.
Bye.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Monday, February 16, 2015
Roles of a Nurse
I was thinking about this today, so I decided to blog about it. :)
I feel like throughout a 12 hour shift, my role as a person's nurse can be different every 10 minutes. Here are a few examples.
Friend
If I have a patient multiple nights in a row, I feel like I can develop a friendship with them. I love that. I ask them about their day, if their kids visited that day, we tell stories, and laugh. I had a patient last night telling me all about his new truck and snowmobile. He was comfortable with me and wanted to talk to me as a friend.
Answering service
Not as much on nights, but there have been a few times when a patient's family will talk to or call the nurse constantly. There was one night where I talked to 6 different family members before 9pm. They would all call for updates instead of talking to each other. After rolling my eyes, I actually found it kind of funny.
Counselor
I had a patient who had lost his wife of 42 years last month. I walked into the room to find him crying and upset. My role at that point was to take the time to hold his hand and listen to his thoughts. My priority was no longer giving him the medications I had brought in, but to let him know that he was important and that I was listening to him. Also, praying with my patients. Helping them find spiritual comfort in tough times.
A Vicious Bee
I hate giving shots. I like getting IVs, but I hate it when I miss. So many needles!
Teacher
Unfortunately, night shift doesn't include as much teaching as day shift due to the fact that the patients should be sleeping for most of my shift. However, when I get the chance, I love the opportunity that I get to educate people. I love finding ways of explaining things in ways that everyone can understand. I had a patient who was in the hospital for the first time, so I got to explain his upcoming procedure to him. For someone who is nervous, knowledge is power.
Mother
This one isn't quite as common, but I had a patient recently who called me into the room and complained of a stomach ache. I palpated (a fancy word for touching) her stomach and asked her if it hurt when I touched it. She exclaimed, 'Oh no! You made it feel all better!' As I walked out of the room, I felt like I had those special mom superpowers where she make something feel better with a simple touch. It was a sweet moment.
Drug Lord
So. Many. Pills.
Advocate
Part of my job is to go to war for my patients. I look at the big picture and try my best to find out what is best for the patient. I spend 12+ hours with them while the doctors only get a few minutes each day. I know the patient and it is my responsibility to fight for what's best for them.
Slave
Out of all of my roles, there are some nights where I feel like I went to college for 4 tough years to be a slave. I wipe butts. I clean up vomit. I fetch countless cups of ice water. I move the bedside table 6 inches closer. I hand them the phone. I bring graham crackers at 2am. I rub lotion on smelly feet. I help people put pillows under their head. Sometimes, this can be frustrating because I feel like I am doing things for people because they are choosing not to do it for themselves. That's the worst. If they are helpless and can't do it for themselves, I don't mind. If they are capable of doing things, but choose not to, I get frustrated.
Superhero
Not always. Not every night. Not every patient. But sometimes, I feel like a superhero.
I feel like throughout a 12 hour shift, my role as a person's nurse can be different every 10 minutes. Here are a few examples.
Friend
If I have a patient multiple nights in a row, I feel like I can develop a friendship with them. I love that. I ask them about their day, if their kids visited that day, we tell stories, and laugh. I had a patient last night telling me all about his new truck and snowmobile. He was comfortable with me and wanted to talk to me as a friend.
Answering service
Not as much on nights, but there have been a few times when a patient's family will talk to or call the nurse constantly. There was one night where I talked to 6 different family members before 9pm. They would all call for updates instead of talking to each other. After rolling my eyes, I actually found it kind of funny.
Counselor
I had a patient who had lost his wife of 42 years last month. I walked into the room to find him crying and upset. My role at that point was to take the time to hold his hand and listen to his thoughts. My priority was no longer giving him the medications I had brought in, but to let him know that he was important and that I was listening to him. Also, praying with my patients. Helping them find spiritual comfort in tough times.
A Vicious Bee
I hate giving shots. I like getting IVs, but I hate it when I miss. So many needles!
Teacher
Unfortunately, night shift doesn't include as much teaching as day shift due to the fact that the patients should be sleeping for most of my shift. However, when I get the chance, I love the opportunity that I get to educate people. I love finding ways of explaining things in ways that everyone can understand. I had a patient who was in the hospital for the first time, so I got to explain his upcoming procedure to him. For someone who is nervous, knowledge is power.
Mother
This one isn't quite as common, but I had a patient recently who called me into the room and complained of a stomach ache. I palpated (a fancy word for touching) her stomach and asked her if it hurt when I touched it. She exclaimed, 'Oh no! You made it feel all better!' As I walked out of the room, I felt like I had those special mom superpowers where she make something feel better with a simple touch. It was a sweet moment.
Drug Lord
So. Many. Pills.
Advocate
Part of my job is to go to war for my patients. I look at the big picture and try my best to find out what is best for the patient. I spend 12+ hours with them while the doctors only get a few minutes each day. I know the patient and it is my responsibility to fight for what's best for them.
Slave
Out of all of my roles, there are some nights where I feel like I went to college for 4 tough years to be a slave. I wipe butts. I clean up vomit. I fetch countless cups of ice water. I move the bedside table 6 inches closer. I hand them the phone. I bring graham crackers at 2am. I rub lotion on smelly feet. I help people put pillows under their head. Sometimes, this can be frustrating because I feel like I am doing things for people because they are choosing not to do it for themselves. That's the worst. If they are helpless and can't do it for themselves, I don't mind. If they are capable of doing things, but choose not to, I get frustrated.
Superhero
Not always. Not every night. Not every patient. But sometimes, I feel like a superhero.
Monday, February 9, 2015
3 Things
I can't exactly remember how it started, but on some vacation with my family, we started asking each other the question, "What do you love?" and the person would list off 3 different things. The next question would be, "What don't you love?" and they'd list off another 3 items. Always three. It became a sort of tradition that we use most frequently on long drives during vacations. Some examples of 'loves' would be whitewater rafting, air conditioning, sunsets, and geocaching. Some examples of 'not loves' would be white pumpkins, 19 hour drives, long lines, and tolls.
Here's my nursing version. I love and don't love more than 3 things though.... But I can't break the tradition, so I'll just play multiple times because it's my blog and I can do what I want.
Round 1:
Caroline, what do you love?
-Doctors who call you back right away
-The thrill you get when you successfully insert an IV
-Getting vital signs without waking a patient up
What don't you love?
-Doctors who don't call you back
-Putting people in restraints. Ew.
-Giving people heparin shots at 6am. "Good morning! Here, let me jab you with a needle! Have a nice day!"
Round 2:
Caroline, what do you love?
-Pain medications available to patients
-Drawing blood from central lines
-Blood sugars under 150 so I don't have to given insulin shots
What don't you love?
-When a patient is in pain and nothing is available for them
-When patients have to stay in the hospital for an entire weekend waiting for a procedure that can't happen til Monday
-Endless charting
Round 3:
What do you love?
-Watching a patient get better. There's nothing better.
-Educating patients and watching the lightbulb go on
-Efficiency in all of its forms
What don't you love?
-Realizing a patient isn't going to get better
-Isolation rooms
-Getting an admission as soon as I walk onto the unit
Round 4:
What do you love?
-Connecting the dots
-Seeing the big picture
-Making a plan based on the big picture
What don't you love?
- No plan
-The 6am rush
-Day shift nurses who come in late
Lots of love!
-C-
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Moments: Episode 3
Hope this post makes you smile, tear up, think differently, or roll your eyes (By the way, it's possible to do all of these at the same time)
-This literally happened. A patient who is confused is trying to get out of bed to go home. I keep running in there to make sure she doesn't fall. She wants us to call the police. Eventually, my manager goes in to explain to her that she needs to stay in bed but she has a call light to call us if she needs anything. (I'd already explained this, but she didn't listen to me) She pushes the call light (which happens to be connected to my phone so it rings whenever a call light goes off) and I walk into the room. I ask her, "What can I get you?" as I turn the call light off. She pushes the button again. My phone rings and I shut it off. I turn the light off. I ask her what she needs. She pushes the button. My phone rings. I shut it off. I turn the light off. I tell her that I'm in the room to answer the light. She pushes the button. My phone rings. I shut it off. I turn the light off. I tell her that the button is calling me. She asks us to call the police. She pushes the button. My phone rings. I shut it off. I turn the light off. I ask her why she keeps pushing the button. She pushes the button. My phone rings. I shut it off. I turn the light off. Another nurse comes in cracking up cause she can hear the conversation. We try to distract her with something else so she doesn't keep pushing the button. She pushes the button. My phone rings. I turn the light off.
Eventually, she quieted down a little bit.
-I have a patient who is unable to eat, move, or talk. All she can do is lie in bed and moan in pain. The patient's family won't consider hospice or making her a DNR patient. They want to take her home and let an 18 year old family member be the primary caretaker. I can't do anything to help her or make her more comfortable except give her medications through her feeding tube.
-I spend less than 10 minutes explaining diabetes and it's management with a patient who is newly diagnosed. He tells me, "Thank you so much for explaining this. You made so much more sense than the doctor who was in here earlier. I really appreciate you taking the time cause you made it very clear."
Eventually, she quieted down a little bit.
-I have a patient who is unable to eat, move, or talk. All she can do is lie in bed and moan in pain. The patient's family won't consider hospice or making her a DNR patient. They want to take her home and let an 18 year old family member be the primary caretaker. I can't do anything to help her or make her more comfortable except give her medications through her feeding tube.
-I spend less than 10 minutes explaining diabetes and it's management with a patient who is newly diagnosed. He tells me, "Thank you so much for explaining this. You made so much more sense than the doctor who was in here earlier. I really appreciate you taking the time cause you made it very clear."
-Sidenote: I am definitely going to teach someday. It gives me such satisfaction to see somebody understand something for the first time.
-I help a tiny old lady up to sit in the chair, and as she stands up, she urinates all over my shoes. She doesn't even know it.
- It wasn't my patient, but I witnessed a patient pass away for the first time. It was expected and peaceful, but still heartbreaking for the family that was there.
-A patient tells me that I shouldn't sneak up on him during the night to get his blood pressure because he was in the war and might accidentally punch me. I followed his advice and keep my distance until he was definitely awake.
-I have had the opportunity to pray with more patients. I've gotten bolder about asking. Each time, it feels like a sacred moment. Prayer is a powerful thing. It can calm a woman who is anxious about an upcoming surgery. It can give confidence to a man who is worried about paying for his medical bills. It can bring emotional healing to the family of a very ill patient.
- Part 1. I have a semi-violent patient who is getting worse as time goes on. She tries to pull out her IV and heart monitor, refuses to take her medications, she takes off her oxygen, she breaks her breathing machine, and is screaming at the top of her lungs, so we get an order to put her in restraints. While we're putting them on, she slaps me in the face (lightly, luckily) and grabs my nametag and starts pulling. Luckily she's not very strong.
-Part 2. The scenario above takes place in a semi-private room where the beds are separated by a curtain only. While I'm getting slapped and am trying to do some damage control, the patient's neighbor is calmly describing to my her new problem of incontinence, asking me to bring her some peanut butter, and asks me if I can change the TV channel for her. My verbal response, "I'll be with you in just a minute!" My mental response, "Can't you see I'm busy here!"
-I help a tiny old lady up to sit in the chair, and as she stands up, she urinates all over my shoes. She doesn't even know it.
- It wasn't my patient, but I witnessed a patient pass away for the first time. It was expected and peaceful, but still heartbreaking for the family that was there.
-A patient tells me that I shouldn't sneak up on him during the night to get his blood pressure because he was in the war and might accidentally punch me. I followed his advice and keep my distance until he was definitely awake.
-I have had the opportunity to pray with more patients. I've gotten bolder about asking. Each time, it feels like a sacred moment. Prayer is a powerful thing. It can calm a woman who is anxious about an upcoming surgery. It can give confidence to a man who is worried about paying for his medical bills. It can bring emotional healing to the family of a very ill patient.
- Part 1. I have a semi-violent patient who is getting worse as time goes on. She tries to pull out her IV and heart monitor, refuses to take her medications, she takes off her oxygen, she breaks her breathing machine, and is screaming at the top of her lungs, so we get an order to put her in restraints. While we're putting them on, she slaps me in the face (lightly, luckily) and grabs my nametag and starts pulling. Luckily she's not very strong.
-Part 2. The scenario above takes place in a semi-private room where the beds are separated by a curtain only. While I'm getting slapped and am trying to do some damage control, the patient's neighbor is calmly describing to my her new problem of incontinence, asking me to bring her some peanut butter, and asks me if I can change the TV channel for her. My verbal response, "I'll be with you in just a minute!" My mental response, "Can't you see I'm busy here!"
That's all for now. More to come in the future!
-C-
-C-
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