a couple things i'm sick of:
1 - in trying to take care of my patients, i'm tired of other providers asking me if he's really in pain or if i think it's really as bad as she says it is or my favorite, 'with the narcotics he's on he shouldn't be having pain'. huh?
pain is what the patient says it is. that is what we are taught and that needs to be our main operating system. yes, we need to dicuss and use scales and be sure we're speaking the same language and be responisble and on the lookout for addiciton and abuse, etc, etc. but please stop trying to decide if what someone says they are feeling is accurate. that is nonsense. we don't know. let's be grateful we don't.
2 - this conversation -
nurse - 'wait, why are we offering this super difficult treatment to this super old person with super crappy disease?'
doctor - 'because she wants treatment'
i so desperately need a game show buzzer for my pocket....because we're sorry - that is incorrect
i have yet to meet a patient who wants treatment.
patients want an outcome.
big difference.
it's difficult, emotional, complicated work we do.
i don't mean to suggest that i have all the answers.
i just have these two.
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18 comments:
As always you are spot on. Wish all in health care had your insight.
Hope you and your family are well.
Happy Valentine's Day!
I reposted this on my blog (fully linked; no worries) and have a request in my comments that you submit this to Grand Rounds. I concur with my commenter. This needs to be trumpeted throughout the blogosphere.
You may not have all the answers, but if you are talking about medical care actually working for the patient, just these two are probably more than half of it.
"i have yet to meet a patient who wants treatment.
patients want an outcome."
(Me, neither. Not in 15 years.)
Those words should be tattooed to the eyeballs of anyone wishing to be an oncologist. IMHO. (Either that, or they must consent to a gameshow buzzer implant.)
These are my two biggest gripes about oncology nursing, too. May they both be eradicated before every last nurse leaves the profession.
You're great with a hammer, oncRN!
Dear OncRN,
It is dangerous to think the way you do. You will burn out in oncology, where the vast majority of interventions, both medical and surgical, have actually little to no benefit.
I'm glad there are oncology nurses that still have that compassion. It's important.
And yes, pain is subjective.
Geez.
I disagree. Many patients/ patients' families just do not want to give up. They want treatment despite knowing there is little or no chance of a good outcome. I have also had countless patients who complain that they did not get enough tablets, which has nothing to do with the outcome. Maybe it's a cultural difference. Point is, not all people are the same/ want the same things out of a situation and so a generalisation like this is flawed because many people do want treatment even if they are counseled that it won't make a difference.
amanzimtoti is just wrong. Patients want treatment not for the treatment itself, but, as you said, for the OUTCOME, which we always hope will be the cure. It's the HOPE that keeps us going, regardless of the degree of probability.
I love the ending to this, about not having all the answers—just these two. FYI, I'm linking to one of your posts in my blog tomorrow.
No wonder compassion is always important to oncology nurses. But they seems to be needed a gameshow buzzer. Lol
Amega
How often is the family more of a pain than the patient?
If only there was a treatment for painful family that didn't involve duct tap.
Thoughts you should keep your thoughts! When you are advocating for a family member then you have the right to pass judgement on family and not a second before!
Hello,
My name is Richard Hemby and I am administrator of an online education site called www.dnpprograms.org – a great resource for those seeking doctorate programs in nursing. Apart from the main feature of this site, we also maintain a blog site that talks about the interesting and always evolving work of nurses. It aims to promote understanding among registered nurses and the direct community it interacts with. It’s a fun-filled place packed with information about this noble profession.
Remember that 25 Random Things About Me fad that went viral on Facebook? Well, we have created our own version, sort of. We recently posted an article entitled 25 Things You May Not Know About What Nurses Know. It’s an interesting read that puts nurses in a new light, like having to juggle the roles of being a CEO, customer service manager, crisis coordinator and medical professional all rolled in one. Intrigued? Here is the link to the article:
http://dnpprograms.org/25-things-you-may-not-know-about-what-nurses-know/
We would like to know if you can do us the favor of putting this article on your site. I think that your readers will definitely agree and may even be surprised with the information they can gather from this. Should you have any question, feel free to me email me at Richard.hemby24@gmail.com.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks,
Richard
Hello,
My name is Richard Hemby and I am administrator of an online education site called www.dnpprograms.org – a great resource for those seeking doctorate programs in nursing. Apart from the main feature of this site, we also maintain a blog site that talks about the interesting and always evolving work of nurses. It aims to promote understanding among registered nurses and the direct community it interacts with. It’s a fun-filled place packed with information about this noble profession.
Remember that 25 Random Things About Me fad that went viral on Facebook? Well, we have created our own version, sort of. We recently posted an article entitled 25 Things You May Not Know About What Nurses Know. It’s an interesting read that puts nurses in a new light, like having to juggle the roles of being a CEO, customer service manager, crisis coordinator and medical professional all rolled in one. Intrigued? Here is the link to the article:
http://dnpprograms.org/25-things-you-may-not-know-about-what-nurses-know/
We would like to know if you can do us the favor of putting this article on your site. I think that your readers will definitely agree and may even be surprised with the information they can gather from this. Should you have any question, feel free to me email me at Richard.hemby24@gmail.com.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks,
Richard
Hi,
I just wanted to leave a quick comment and let you know that Lydia's Uniforms is currently holding a contest where our readers can vote on the top nurse blogs. We’ve selected oncRN to be on our list of the top 25 - congratulations! If you would like to vote for your blog, or have others vote, please visit this link: http://blog.lydiasuniforms.com/blog/lydias-uniforms/0/0/top-nurse-blogs-cast-your-vote.
We’ll be announcing the winners during Nurses Week 2010.
Best of luck and thanks for your time!
AMEN!
I recommend a Western Schools course (nursing CEUs) that was called Effective Pain Management. It was the best, most logical book on the subject I've come across.
Yes, of course, of course, and of course the patient knows what he/she feels. DUH!
Thank you. RN for 38 years
Someone else (I don't remember who it was now) mentioned in their blog that the problem is the lack of understanding of "outcome". Many doctors offer a treatment as giving an "outcome" and the patients (or family) hear "cure" because of their desperate hope for that. In Britain they keep talking about "getting a result" in soccer - they'll get a result OK. It may not be the one they want.
Keep advocating truth.
Pretty helpful piece of writing, thanks so much for your post.
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