There are a number of patients who are frequent visitors on my floor. They come up, stay for a few days, we send them home, and they're back within a few months. The nurses might say, "____ is back again. It seemed like he was just here!" We know them by name, know what they'll be asking for, and roll our eyes when they end up on the floor again. Most of them come in again and again for the same problem. Maybe they didn't take their medications or missed dialysis treatments or want stronger pain medications. There's one patient who I suspect just likes the attention he gets on our floor. Most of the time, they come in because they didn't follow the instructions we gave them. No matter how many times a nurse or doctor instructed them to take their blood pressure medications every. single. day. they are resistant to it and end up back in the hospital. These are our frequent flyers.
There were two or three frequent flyers on my floor this week. Seeing them and trying to teach them yet again the importance of following our instructions made me think. When I read the Bible- particularly the first half of the Old Testament- I see some similarities. God rescues these people, gives them very clear commandments, and they screw it up. He forgives them, sends judges or prophets to help them, and they screw it up again. Sometimes I just want to yell at them, "Come on already! God has made it so clear to you and you can't obey for just a little bit?" It's like they're ending up back in the hospital again and again and again. The treatment is clear and doesn't seem that difficult, but they can't manage it.
After I have these kinds of thoughts, I'm forced to look at my own life. Are there issues in my life where I am a frequent flyer? Mistakes that I make again and again even though I know how to fix it? The answer is yes. No matter how many times God has shown His provision to me, I still doubt His faithfulness. No matter how many times I've come to the conclusion that God is enough and that I can rely on Him completely, I still fall away from that and try to find satisfaction in things of this messed up world. I repeat the same sins again and again and again. It's easy to find excuses, but in the end, I am exactly the same as the frequent flyers and the Israelites. The instructions are clear, but I still make the same mistakes.
Sorry if that was a little heavy. Things have been pretty good on the floor recently, and I've had a run of pretty decent shifts with patients who were kind and thankful for what I was doing. I got to celebrate Easter morning at my church which is my very favorite holiday. Sometimes it seems like spring is here, and that always puts me in a good mood. Life is good, and God is good. Thank you to everyone who continues to read this blog. Love to all
-C-
I think there is more to this frequent flyer issue than simple non-compliance. I think nurses are partly to blame here because we have failed to motivate the patient to comply or have failed to understand what is really driving the non-compliance. To resolve this issue, health care professionals are going to have to accept part of the blame for this problem and work together with the patient for a solution.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that perplexes me with modern health care is that a patient's chronic illness has been brewing most likely for years. We expect to resolve it with an outpatient surgery or 2 day hospitalization. There is little support for a patient that has been discharged.
Your blog is very enlightening in the way you incorporate your faith in God with your work as a nurse. I was overly involved with technical issues to allow myself much time to think about the big picture. Your approach will bring you peace and fulfillment over the long term, something I missed as a young nurse.