Unforgettable Experiences: Why Healthcare Providers Remember Patients and Events - Essay Sample

Introduction

In clinical setup, healthcare providers come across different patients with different healthcare needs. Although healthcare providers may have served a significant number of patients per shift, some incidences are often unforgettable. Such incidents may not be forgettable due to various factors such as the complexity of the clinical problem and the relationship between the patient and the healthcare providers. Due to this, all healthcare providers tend to remember the actual day and timelines of the incidences. One of the most remembered care is an encounter with a patient two months ago. The patient, known as Mr. T, was admitted to the facility due to chest pain complaints. The patient, who was an African- American denied having shortness of breath, and all other vitals such as blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and glucose levels were normal.

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The patient continued to explain that he first felt the pain when he was waking up for his morning workout. At that time, he had some nausea, and thus he had to postpone the workout. He went back to his bed. A few minutes later, the pain disappeared. He woke up and dressed up for work. Mr. T is a senior consultant in a marketing firm. His day was usual, having busy schedules ranging from the board meeting and attending seminars within the city. At around 7 AM, the chest pain reappeared a situation that forced him to seek medical attention. After this brief history, the patient explained that he has been visiting the facility for more than 10 years, and thus all his health records could be easily be traced Epic. Mr. T was alert, warm on touch, and was pale. His body temperature was within a normal range. In addition to this, the team attending to the patient noticed that the respirations were regular, and the lungs were clear. The abdomen was tender. However, that patient demonstrated a painful reaction after touching the abdominal region.

The assessment led to a lengthy talk with the doctor in charge, and the other two nurses who were in for the night shift. The doctor and one of the nurses insisted that the patient was okay to be discharged since the chest pain had disappeared, and other vitals were normal. I had to explain that I had noticed some negative reactions after palpating the patient's abdomen. The doctor was interested in the observation and decided to reassess the patient. In less than three hours, the patient's condition deteriorated a situation that forced the medical staff to transfer him to the ICU. The doctor ordered that a complete blood count and liver function tests should be conducted. The test revealed that the patient was suffering from cholangitis. I chose to follow my gut of advocate for my patient in their time of need. I had to be his voice especially because at that time we were not accepting visitors due to Covid-19. After being attendant to, the patient explained that he was very grateful for the services and he will always recommend to facility to any person in need of clinical care. I was very happy with the comment as it demonstrated that the patient was satisfied with our services. This experience opened up my mind on patient advocacy and I promised to always to advocate for my patents because that is one of my major role as a nurse.

Step Lock of Listen

At 3 pm, after taking my lunch, a patient by the name A arrived to the ED hold unit. The patient looked distressed and was wearing a heavy jacket covering her hands and part of his face despite the high room temperature. The patent was 26 years old and was her first-time visit to the hospital. She was hesitant to explain the problem due to her low self-esteem, but I was able to create a friendly environment that enabled her to express her concerns.

She started by saying, "nurse, this life is unfair, why only me?" the question jogged my mind wondering what was going on. I decided to interrogate the patient to know what was wrong. She removed her heavy jacket and told me to look at her chest arms and face. The patient had a significant amount of facial, arm, and abdominal hair. She explained that she was alienated by her colleagues in colleges, a situation that forced her to live a lonely life. The patient also explained that she lost her mother two months ago in a motor vehicle collision.

According to A, her mother was the only person who used to encourage her when she was in distress. Being the firstborn, she has to take care of her younger sister despite the challenges. Some tears dropped after explaining this. Before conducting further assessment, I talked to the patient and gave her hope. The patient was completely overwhelmed by her emotions and could not speak. I moves close to her embraced her and encouraged her to share her experience. I convinced her that all problems can be solved using the right intervention and good collaborations. The patient developed trust in me and continued to explain her condition.

I took her vitals. Her blood pressure, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and body temperature were normal. The BMI index revealed that the patient was obese. She explained that she had gained more than 50Lbs within 5 years. A also explained that she has tried to use different interventions such diet modification and morning exercise to reduce her body weight but all was in vain. In addition to this, the patient complained of a loss of menses. Loss of menses and inability to conceive has been a challenge in her family. She explained that she got married at the age of 24 and since then, her husband has been demanding for a baby. The abdominal assessment revealed that the patient had no masses. The heart sounded normal, and the lung fields were normal. The labs was ordered to perform a test to evaluate her androgen levels. Such tests helps in supporting the clinical manifestations. An ultrasound was also conducted in the pelvic region.

The assessment, ultrasound, and laboratory diagnosis confirmed that the patient was suffering from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). The clinical manifestation of the disease includes loss of menses, miscarriages, hirsutism, infertility, and acne. Most of these symptoms are associated with the interference of hormonal levels in the body. The pathophysiology of the condition is also linked with depression and low self-esteem. The attending doctor started the patient with medroxyprogesterone acetate but I also know that we also need to treat her mental illness as well. I communicated this to the doctor. We decided to refer the patient to a psychologist. We contacted the psychologist, who is one of our colleague. We explained to her about the patient. The professional immediately scheduled and appointment for the patient. In this case, recreation therapy was also important for the patient. After the process was completed, I noticed that the patient was in deep thoughts. I asked her what she was thinking of and her response was “Thank you for listening to me”. I comforted her and advised her to always seek medical attention in case she feels unwell or when in distress. The patient appeared to be more confident than before.

Ethical Issues

Ethical issues are also common in clinical practice. In some cases, healthcare providers encounter situations that may force them to make decisions against healthcare ethics. It was a busy day in the emergency department. We had just completed the stabilization process of three family members who were involved in a motor vehicle collision. After two of the patients were upgraded to ICU status and the third one was transferred to the OR, we breathed a sigh of relief. Few minutes later, an old woman was brought into the ED hold. The patient was in respiratory distress. During the assessment, the doctor noted that the patient was unresponsive to verbal stimuli. Her blood pressure was at 138/98 and a pulse rate of 130 while the respiratory rate was at 28 breaths per minute. A consolidation at the lower lobe was noted after a chest X-ray was conducted. The daughters, who has just arrived explained that their mother had been diagnosed with lung cancer. The cancer had also Meta to the lungs and the brain. The patient's condition was deteriorating and thus, code status decisions had to be discussed with the patient’s children which consisted of two daughters and a son.

The three children were contacted by the physician. The doctor explained all the procedures regarding the end of life care. Among the essential procedures is the resuscitation process. The two daughters explained that they prefer a Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) procedure in case of cardiac arrest. However, they explained that all nutritional and respiratory support should be administered. The son explained that he had not seen his mother for more than 5 years since. He complained about the decision made by his sisters on DNR and proposed that all the procedures should be performed. The doctor tried to unite the siblings and encouraged them to make a conclusive decision, but all was in vain.

The patient's condition worsened and a code blue was called. Conducting the process without informing the family members is unethical. However, we had no option because the siblings had not agreed on the end-of-life care procedures. The daughter was informed of what happened. They threatened to sue the facility and the involved healthcare providers for violating healthcare ethics. Such situations are common in healthcare. In some cases, the healthcare providers have to make decisions that may involve violating healthcare policies. On the other hand, the son was pleased by our actions and promised to be always supportive. The experience revealed the importance of understanding healthcare polices and having decision-making skills. In addition, the experience helped in boosting my understanding of ethical dilemmas and how to handle such situations. Such a decision should be made after detailed consultation with other healthcare providers and the administrative staff.