Archive for April, 2009
Patient rights, was patient safety jeopardized?
Back in the early eighties, it came strongly into focus about patient rights. It was decided by the Joint Commission, now known as JACHO (the accrediting council for hospitals) that it was no longer allowed to physically restrain patients.
You see it used to be a safety practice for confused patients if they were in danger of harming themselves or others we would put what was called a Posey jacket or wrist restraints on there person to keep them safe. A Posey jacket was a little front and back jacket with strings that could be tied to the bottom of the bed. Usually this was enough but sometimes they had to have their wrists restrained because they could get themselves undone with just the jacket. We called these patients Houdini.
Of course, we would include the family in the decision regarding patient rights and ask them to come sit with the patient to prevent this from being necessary. Sometimes they were willing, other times they would give permission for the restraints.
Don’t get me wrong, it was actually quite humane, patients that were confused were constantly pulling out their IV’s or falling out of bed, or pulling out their urinary catheters. All these things are dangerous and painful. So it was all good.
Well, it was to be no more, no restraints! Patient rights ruled over patient safety.
Well this one evening, I had a little 85 year old Alzheimer’s patient that was very very confused and disoriented. I had her bed in the lowest position, but she kept getting out of bed. She was very much in danger of getting hurt, I worried so much about her. Then I got an idea…
I asked her what she used to do when she was younger, she said she took care of her home and family. Well that is all I needed to hear. I told her I also had a family and home to take care of and that I was overwhelmed with how much I had to do and I wondered if she had time, would she like to help me. She was eager to help me.
I left her room and returned with a big box of towels and washcloths and pillow cases, all jumbled up. I told her it was just out of the dryer and needed to get folded. Her face was joyful. She had a purpose. She had something to do. She was somebody again.
She meticulously folded each and every piece and stacked them all up. It took her an hour. She was so proud when she offered her completed project to me. I thanked her profusely, kissed her cheek, went outside the room and messed it all up again.
I stayed gone for a few minutes to give her a little time to recoup and then I brought the next “load” in for her to fold. She looked at me and started folding. She did an excellent job. She finished again in about an hour.
I came in a third time with another “load” and her face looked a little troubled. Then she pushed the basket back to me and said “Honey, I’ve tried to help you, but you are going to have to learn to take care of your own home. I am not always going to be here for you. You need to stand on your own two feet now.” It was great! I tried hard not to smile, really I did. She then told me she was exhausted and she was going to bed.
She went to bed for the entire night, slept like a baby and was never restrained. From then on we just kept her busy with chores and never had to restrain her again. Her patient rights remain intact! What a memory.
Forty Years of Nursing, Stories of Life
Hello, my name is Susan, I am a registered nurse with a large variety of nursing experiences. I have been nursing for forty years. I have a sub-specialty in orthopedics, cardiology and alcohol and drug withdrawal and rehabilitation. I have also worked in most fields of nursing, and I am currently working in emergency medicine.
I love nursing. I have had the most amazing career in all different fields of nursing. I have met so many people. Wonderful dynamic and talented physicians, excellent technicians, memorable patients and so many friends along the way that I feel truly blessed
Many different emotions come into play when I think back over the years. Some memories are beautiful and very endearing while others are outrageous and some even make me feel the anger I felt at the time. Some are very humorous and cause me to laugh right out loud with the memory. Some other memories are even shocking and a bit disturbing.
No matter what, people are people and it takes all kinds to make the world go round. And most of those people, sooner or later, turn up in the hospital with one complaint or another. And that’s when I have been able to meet so many different people with all types of problems.
Some we were able to help, others may have had little hope, while some had nothing physically wrong but were dealing with different psych or substance abuse problems. But they are still all people deserving of respectful and loving care.
The purpose of this blog is to share these memories. A kind of tribute to the many people and events that have occurred in my career. Now I do want to give a mild warning here. I will be honest with how things occurred. Sometimes things could be a bit crude, or graphic, or even bloody. Or maybe you might not agree with some of the choices I made. But I will still record them here as honestly as memory serves me. Also none of the names mentioned in this blog will ever be the person’s actual name. I will also change other non relevant details to make the event less recognizable so as to protect the anonymity of the people involved.
I also want to impart any knowledge about diseases, conditions and health and wellness. My experience will help you learn about the things that could potentially affect us. Hopefully will you will live long healthy lives and if anything I tell you helps in that journey, I will be continuing in my role of nurse and caregiver and it will make me happy for us both.
All the stories, tales and quips will be true life and as accurate as memory serves. All the medical information will be researched and as accurate as possible, but nothing on this website should be utilized as medical treatment or in lieu of your physician and his care. This is not a clinic or hospital or advice center. Just information and entertainment. So settle back and enjoy memories of forty years of nursing.
