Patient vs Nurse

My experience as an employee did not prepare me for becoming a nurse

My experience as a nurse did not prepare me for becoming a patient

I choose the role of me

I am consistent

I am real

I have thoughts, feelings

I am unique

~ I am an Employee ~

I have walked these halls many years

Smiled and greeted you

Assisted visitors, given directions

Developed friendships with coworkers

Amicable and tolerant of others Numerous Managers and management style

Purchased many of my meals in the cafeteria

Visited the gift shop

Utilized the concierge for discount tickets to movies, circus and amusement parks

Prayed in the chapel

Research in the library

Enjoyed employee recognition picnics, ice cream socials and The Christmas Banquet

Spent the night in severe weather

Worked over-time, weekends and Holidays

Job description has changed from Unit Clerk, Unit Secretary, unit assistant then Registered Nurse

Worked full-time while in Nursing school

Received tuition Reimbursement and scholarships to attend Nursing School

Nursing Clinicals in this hospital

Education,  conferences

Committees, Mentoring, Preceptor

Manager, Conflict resolution

Certifications

~ I am a Nurse ~

Insert IV's, gastric, urinary tubes 

Manage your body fluids, surgical drains

Bathe, turn and transfer your heavy body (3 pounds to 700 pound bodies)

Medications, wound care

Pain management

Falls and pressure Ulcer prevention

I am your personal

waitress, housekeeper, handyman, 

babysitter, therapist

Patient advocate, teacher, encourager

Emotional Support when you received life-altering news

Rejoiced when you achieved small goals

Dealt with your family and visitors

Presented a calm front while being criticized, verbally abused by your family or you

Held your hand in the wee hours of the night

End of life and palliative care

I put your needs first

I have missed meals

I have a bladder the size of Texas

Lifting, turning, bending

Nonstop activity for 12 hours straight

Foot, leg and back pain

Laughter, Joy, Euphoria

Frustration, Anger, Disappointment

~ I am the Patient ~

Stripped of clothes, privacy, intimacy

Forced to repeat my history to each person who walks through my door

I can't remember the name of my medications

No, I did not bring the bottles with me

Medication substitutions and revisions

That pill doesn't look like the one I take from home

I take this pill at night 

Answer questions

Appear pleasant when you wake me

Request items for personal needs

You turn your back or avoid eye contact while we communicate

What is your pain level on a scale 0-10?

Describe your pain

My Call light is answered but you never receive my request

I am fussed at for walking to nurse station instead of using the call light 

You still do not receive my request

My trash is not emptied, there is no toilet paper

Today the housekeeper arrives before breakfast

The odor of the cleaning solutions cause nausea and a headache

How much did you drink?

The frequency, color and consistency of my bathroom encounters

Do you really have to stay with me while I pee

I don't want to leave my body fluids for you to measure and describe

I'm going to be sick

I say, I need my basin and a cool cloth as you run out the door to get my nausea medicine

Poked, prodded, examined, exposed

Take this medicine

Another test

Let's try...

Digging for answers

Separated from my normal routine, my family

Missing the pets, my bed

The TV screen is green

Can't find my favorite channel

Internet is slow or does not respond

Blah food

All 3 meals served within 10 hours

I am hungry between 5 pm - 8 am

Crackers and juice are not satisfying

Oh well, food is not tempting anyway

Or I can't have anything to eat because of a test

I hear the confused patient yelling in the middle of the night and all day long

The ambulances and helicopters outside

Who are all these people that come into my room

Please introduce yourself and tell me your purpose

Nurse, new nurse orienting, nursing student

Nursing assistant to take my vital signs every four hours

Dietary, housekeeper

Respiratory therapist

Rehab- speech, occupational, physical therapist

Case Manager

Charge nurse

Unit Manager, assistant Unit manager, Clinical Specialist, Clinical 

Educator

Can any patient know their doctor when there is so many specialities?

Attending Physician, physicians assistant, nurse practitioner

Consulting Physicians: cardiology, nephrology, infectious disease

hematology, oncology, hepatology, gastrology, neurology, urology, pulmonology, rheumatology, allergy, dermatology, ENT, podiatry

OB-GYN, neonatology, pediatrician

Surgeon: general, vascular, cardiothoracic, orthopedic, urology, gynecology

Anesthesia

Radiology department

Cardiology department

Laboratory Department

So many departments, Physician specialties 

I will not think of the billing statements, insurance and copays.

November 2013
 

My Job

I began my healthcare career as a nursing assistant in a Nursing Home. I enrolled in a week program to learn how to take vital signs, transfer a patient from bed to wheelchair, how to feed, bathe, provide for a patient who is unable to provide for their own needs.

I was hired at our local hospital after I moved to Georgia. I was a Unit Secretary. I entered doctor's orders, assisted staff and visitors etc. I finally obtained my Nursing degree and license in 1993. I love being a nurse. Frustrating, tiring and totally fulfilling for me. 

The hospital system has changed and grown drastically in the past 27 years.
Nurses are no longer required to wear nursing caps, our school pins or white dresses, shoes and hose. It is difficult to distinguish a nurse from a tech without looking at the name tag. 

Nurse-Doctor relationships have also changed. A doctor is quickly reported for unprofessional behavior. 

Yet, nurses no longer:

1.) rise from a chair when doctor enters nurses station. 

2.) Offer support and assistance without being summoned.

3.) obtain coffee, charts etc for our Doctors.

Hopefully, we still show respect to each other. I do. 

Technology, the use of Hospitalists, Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants have increased exponentially over the past 30 years. Medical research has improved our life expectancy and quality of life. Insurance and medical costs are the new hot topic. 

Whatever your own healthcare experience and views may be, I think we can all agree that we need our Healthcare Team. We are decently paid, heavily taxed (emotionally, physically and monetary). Most of us are here to serve you, not for the money. 

We are the people doing the grunt work. I promise you this-You do not want graphic details. I could write a book!

I do have a life outside of my career. I am blessed to receive personal satisfaction in my home and work life. 

I welcome your comments, healthcare experiences or Nursing Education questions. I will not debate healthcare reform as that is not the purpose of this blog.