My patients this week were great:
One of them was an old man who was super mobile, so he was walking around almost my entire shift. It was sad, though, because he lived alone and he had been in the hospital a few times over the past month or so. So there was the issue of social disconnect and isolation, I think, which is scary no matter what age you're at! But I really got to be an advocate for him, as in making sure he got a warm blanket put over his feet every night (he had really poor circulation and cold feet 24/7). I could tell that even though he was depressed, I got to help him because though his smiles were sparse, I still got to see a few of them. It was really rewarding and it made me smile...like, one of those genuine smiles, you know? And it was so sweet because he was like, "I know you're really trying to help and you've been really helpful, but...." that sentence came up in the middle of one of our conversation. So I'm glad that I was able to help him a bit for the 10 hours in total that I was with him.
My second patient on Tuesday was this cute little Danish lady. Her children came in and spent the latter half of my shift with her, so it was nice. I could tell that her daughter was really caring, too, because she knew exactly which medication it was that I came by to give her, and it made me feel good, knowing that. This patient was so adorable, with her accent and her whole, "It's OK, take your time, I understand" attitude. She needed things, but she wasn't demanding about it and she was so patient. It's funny because I don't realize how often/how big I smile anymore because it's second nature to me, but I introduced myself to her daughter and son in law and I guess I was smiling when I was updating them on her condition. So when the time came for me to bring my patient her meds, I was walking towards them in the dining room and her daughter said, "she's still smiling". I thought she was talking about my patient, but she was talking about me!! I felt really silly. It's also something that I'm working on, because smiling really big can be inappropriate, like, you don't want to be smiling stupidly when someone's telling you about why they're depressed/if they're constipated or something.
My third patient on Wednesday was interesting. I know she could tell that she was really distressed about not having a mirror because it was something that she needed for her morning care, so I was on search for a mirror a portion of my morning. I know she really appreciated the fact that I told her that I hadn't forgotten. When it comes down to it, you or I don't like being forgotten about either, right? Patients are no different from you or me - they experience the exact same things as us, if not more. This patient was very personable and even asked me to call her by her first name! My first time addressing my patient by their first name!
She really worked me physically because even though she had a compression fracture of her spine, she wanted to walk to the bathroom, but I was proud of her for trying to maintain her habits. 
In PBL this week, we had our end of the semester potluck and it was great. I made hummous for the first time in my life and it was all I'd ever imagined and more. Haha! There was so much food, I felt like I was pregnant and I sat there rubbing my belly hoping that I would feel better. But I didn't and I couldn't even eat dinner that night. Haha. Good times.
ONE MORE WEEK OF CLASSES!!!! AHHHHH!!!! SO FAST!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment