The Hospital is No Place for a Sick Person, Part 2

Alright, moving right along, I bring you the second installment of my observations as a patient on the general medical floor of my local hospital! If you missed the first post, you can read it here.

2) Judgment.
During the chapter on Pain Management in nursing school, it was repeatedly beat into our heads mentioned that pain is whatever the patient says it is. If you ask them to rate pain from 0-10 and they say it’s a 9, then it’s a 9. If they say they are in extreme pain even though they are laughing and have no signs of pain showing on their face, then they are in extreme pain. As the nurse, we have been taught that we treat the pain that the patient reports.

Now, I have worked in the ER and on the ambulance and seen patients say they are experiencing “the worst pain of my life” while texting on their phones or filing their nails. I know it’s difficult to hear what they say and make it mesh with what we observe, but when I start to get frustrated I try to take a step back and remind myself of a few things. I am not feeling what they are, I have no knowledge of what their experience with pain is, and I usually have little-to-no clue what their cultural background is like. Once I can bring these things to the forefront of my mind, I come back to the situation refreshed and ready to treat my patient the way I was trained.

But this was not always my experience during my admission. I had some nurses (such as the nurse in the PACU) who charted what I said for pain, and got me the medicine that was ordered without question. They would try to figure out the best schedule for medicine, the best way to position me, how to adjust my bed, if food or drink would help me in any way, and other ways of helping to ease my pain. The nurses on third (overnight) shift were the best as far as pain control went. Maybe it’s because they weren’t as busy because other patients were sleeping, or maybe it was something else, but when I said I was in pain, they did everything they could to help me.

I had other nurses, though, who seemed frustrated, skeptical, or annoyed whenever I would ask for pain medicine. They’d say things like “you just had your pain medicine two hours ago,” (even though my medicine was ordered for every two hours) or “is it really that bad?” I’d be reminded that “it is normal to have pain after surgery, you know,” or “overuse of narcotics can lead to dependency.” So whenever I had these nurses, I would get so embarrassed to push the call button because I didn’t want to hear the judgmental words or see the eye rolling. I decided it was better to put up with the pain than have to deal with their comments. But as a future nurse, I can say that what I experienced is not the kind of environment I want for my patients. I am sure that some of these nurses have seen many drug-seekers, narcotic-dependent patients and “frequent fliers” who may have changed their perception of pain management, and I understand that. However, it does not change the fact that their preconceived notions about my pain led to embarrassment and shame on my part.

What about you? Have you ever felt judged as a patient when you request medicine, or get a prescription filled at the pharmacy? Alternatively, providers, have you ever caught yourself judging a patient for one reason or another? I’d definitely love some more input on this and maybe we can get a good discussion going!

Stay safe out there,
Sam

Advertisement