Education and learning are things that never end. I have always said that the day I do not learn something is the day I change what is going on in my life. It is important that we learn from our mistakes, the mistakes of others, and the information available to us.This can be in our social, personal, and professional settings.
Yesterday, I was called in to work. Let me tell you just a bit about this job. I work as a cardiac cath lab nurse. I circulate cases, scrub, and monitor them. We have to take call every so often to ensure that our community's needs are met. Normally, I circulate since I tend to take call with my co-workers who are techs. So, I was called in to work yesterday. Our patient? A 34 year old woman who was scared, having a racing heart, and chest pain so bad she had passed out.
As a circulator, you are in charge of watching vital signs, giving conscious sedation, reassuring the patient, maintaining a sterile field, and ensuring the physician has all he needs. My patient was terrified. She wanted more reassurance that everything was going to be ok. Right before the procedure, she asked me to hold her hand and pray. I did as she asked, then she smiled at me and said thank you. Her coronaries were beautiful and the physician was looking towards a viral infection or some other cause for her discomfort. After everything was over with, she hugged me tight and told me thank you.
I learned that sometimes, the best reassurance a nurse can give is the human emotions and interactions. People do not always want the cold hard facts, statistics, or empty promises of everything being good. Physical contact and a few simple, heartfelt words made the difference to this woman. I began thinking that this would make the difference to me as well.
"To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through; is to be a nurse. Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter's or sculptor's work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God's spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts." ~Florence Nightingale
Great quote from Flo! Most days I feel like administer so much MORE than clinical skills/interventions and medications. The past three days, I pulled out all the stops in the MORE department. Great blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog. It always make me feel good when I am able to help the patient see that nursing is more than just the administration of medications. It is a ministry of love and healing.
ReplyDeleteThe family dynamics that go along with some patients can tax any artfully skilled nurse. It is amazing what a calm voice and reassuring touch can do for an anxious patient. Nurses do practice the 'art of nursing'. That's why I tell my students to get the science of nursing as their solid base to build upon. Love your pirate RN!
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