The first thing I wanted to talk about pertaining to the critical patient, is their arrival in the ICU. It is bad enough that the patient has to be in ICU, but it is even worse when they are treated like an object. There are many ways that we as staff members do this, such as:
1. We start hooking them up to the monitors and IVs and pull them onto the ICU bed, without any warning.
2. We don't call them by their name, because we probably haven't checked it yet or we are just helping the nurse who will care for the patient.
3. We talk above them and about them, but never to them.
This is very unfair to the patient, who is now going to be poked and prodded and told what to do and when to do it. But we can change our attitudes and think of our patient as an actual person, with feelings and worries.
We can easily call them by their rightful name, tell them what we are doing before we do it, ask them if we can uncover their naked body before we do it, and provide them with the privacy they deserve, as we would like for ourselves.
I just wanted to start with this because as simple as it sounds, it is often forgotten because the ICU is a very crazy place at times and we have to do what is best for the patient.
Thank you for reading my opening lesson.
Frances
Frances,
ReplyDeleteI have been an ICU nurse for over 25 years and even though we have a job to do, there is always time to talk with the patient, provide privacy, and to show respect by providing touch, a warm environment and using the patient's name. I work with children but even the babies know when you are talking around them! I love your blog and will be visiting often! Lorelai
Thank you for your response. I was a critical care nurse for 8 years and I loved it very much. I am so happy that I still have a lot of hands on care with the patients around the hospital, including the critical care patients. I hope this blog will be interesting for all the read it.
DeleteFrances