Patrick Dismuke: Patrick Dismuke was a teenage boy who had been a patient at Hermann Hospital all his life. He suffered from numerous health defects, including blood-clotting problems, malnutrition, and infection. On his journey, he learned to love the hospital, even more so than his home (perhaps due to the slight abandonment by his mother). He loved his doctors and nurses (most of them) and frequently spent his childhood playing games around the nurses’ station. The hospital staff equally loved Patrick, letting him watch movies late at night, allowing him to eat junk food, and answering his late night calls when he was lonely. Patrick’s love was so strong that he infected his own main line, the line leading directly to his heart, with …show more content…
I often ask myself, “Can I handle it?” I learned from other doctors that in order to provide the best care, a physician must be able to detach himself or herself from the patient; they say it would be better for both the doctor and the patient. But, with that kind of thinking, the doctor is not fully giving himself to the patient. So, is it right to not fully give oneself to care for the patient? Learning from Patrick Dismuke and those who loved him, it seemed that the hospital was able to care for him best by loving him. Nurse Kay, Patrick’s favorite nurse, not only answered his late night calls, but enjoyed talking with him. This always calmed Patrick down before and/or after surgery. Dr. Aceves was always optimistic and hopeful for the future of Patrick’s health, never giving up on him by pushing for surgery. He did this because he knew Patrick all 16 years and was emotionally attached to the boy, even though Patrick did not feel the same way. Thus, though I can understand that a physician must put a wall between himself or herself and the patient, there should still be a strong connection in which they would do anything for the patient’s comfort and
Michael Moscherosch was born on November 23rd, 1962, in Stuttgart Germany. He and his younger brother were born into a working class family, with his mother working as a full-time accountant and his father working as a car mechanic. The Moscherosch family stayed in Stuttgart for since its inception, the families ancestral roots stem as far back as the 1600s and stayed within Stuttgart and the villages surrounding the area. Michael as a child was described to be scholastic and performed well in his school. In Germany, instead of there being an elementary, middle, and high school, there is a primary school and then secondary schools prioritizing certain fields; some of these fields include engineering, trade schools, and “gymnasiums” which closely represent the structure of our American high schools. Upon completing his secondary school education, Michael began studying Chemistry at the University of Stuttgart, working at night during the week to fund his education.
Still, the previous advantages discussed should influence the nurse to improve in identifying patient vulnerability. This is evident by this patient where I utilized my interpersonal skills to communicate to this patient so that he/she is aware that he/she is not alone in this journey. Nurses need to utilize models and theories to guide nursing practice. For instance, McCormack’s framework focuses on patient-centered care which influences nurses to understand the patient as a whole and their values (Abley, 2012, p. 42). Being able to identify values will give nurses and myself a better comprehension about the patients resulting in worthiness and belonging expressed. As a result, informing nurses about patient’s subjective vulnerability because a trust and understanding relationship is established. This is supported in a clinical experience where a patient “felt understood and opened up for further interactions based on trust” through an honest, supportive relationship with a nurse (Gjengedal, 2013, p. 134). Nurses should provide patient-focused provision of service, and assist this patient in overcoming his/her obstacle as a way of encouragement. Furthermore, Sellman (2005) explains how encouragement may compromise human flourish (p. 7), it is dependent on the situation and it cannot be assumed all encouragement will lead to harm. This informs nurses to be aware of the consequences that prevent the
When we see patients, we must remember that we are not simply treating a disease. We are caring for people with lives, hobbies, jobs, families, and friends, who are likely in a very vulnerable position. We must ensure that we use the status of physicians to benefit patients first and foremost, and do what we promised to when we entered the profession: provide care and improve quality of life, and hopefully leave the world a little better than it was
As I was listening to Carol’s story, I realized that her story is one of many patients. Sure, she was lucky that her husband had advocated on her behalf when she was most vulnerable and she took over once she could but how many people could not? Juggling only two balls in the air becomes tricky once we name them “patient care” and “budget”. If we were to place Carol in an ideal hospital, would she have had the same expe...
This internal conflict is a result of the mistakes a physician makes, and the ability to move on from it is regarded as almost unreachable. For example, in the essay, “When Doctors Make Mistakes”, Gawande is standing over his patient Louise Williams, viewing her “lips blue, her throat swollen, bloody, and suddenly closed passage” (73). The imagery of the patient’s lifeless body gives a larger meaning to the doctor’s daily preoccupations. Gawande’s use of morbid language helps the reader identify that death is, unfortunately, a facet of a physician’s career. However, Gawande does not leave the reader to ponder of what emotions went through him after witnessing the loss of his patient. He writes, “Perhaps a backup suction device should always be at hand, and better light more easily available. Perhaps the institutions could have trained me better for such crises” (“When Doctors Make Mistakes” 73). The repetition of “perhaps” only epitomizes the inability to move on from making a mistake. However, this repetitive language also demonstrates the ends a doctor will meet to save a patient’s life (73). Therefore, it is not the doctor, but medicine itself that can be seen as the gateway from life to death or vice versa. Although the limitations of medicine can allow for the death of a patient to occur, a doctor will still experience emotional turmoil after losing someone he was trying to
Participant 4 stated, “I think just basically being there for the family as well…I think even just a cup of tea can go a long way with any family (McCallum & McConigley, 2013). Another theory that intertwines with Watson’s is Barbara Dossey’s Theory of Integral Nursing. Dossey articulates, “Healing is not predictable, it is not synonymous with curing but the potential for healing is always present even until one’s last breath,” (Parker and Smith, 2015, p. 212). Dossey believes that integral nursing is a comprehensive way to organize different situations in fours perspectives (nurse, health, person and environment) of reality with the nurse as an instrument in the healing process by bringing his or her whole self into a relationship with another whole self. In the HDU, the RN’s interacted with each patient while providing high quality care to create a healing environment for the patient and family even when their prognosis was otherwise. Patient 3 specified that “We still have to provide care...and make the family feel that they are comfortable and looked after” (McCallum & McConigley, 2013). These theories ultimately show the importance of a nurse through the aspects of caring to create and maintain a healing environment that is not only beneficial to the patient but to their loved ones as
March 30, 1981 was a peaceful day. President Ronald Reagan was walking outside enjoying the fresh air when suddenly shots were fired. Six shots were fired in total, but only one shot hit Reagan due to a bullet that ricocheted. Luckily, Reagan was hit in the abdomen; therefore, he survived. The “mastermind” behind the attempted assassination was a man named John Hinckley. Hinckley believed by going through with this assassination it would be a romantic scenario for himself to confess his undying love for the actress Jodie Foster. Before long it was time for the Hinckley trial and after hearing his side of the story, the jury came to the conclusion that he was crazy. Hinckley was later found not guilty by reason of insanity and admitted to
.... Each day your will leave a lasting impression on the people you interact with. By providing care and communicating with your patients, you will foster not only trust but also you will heal not only your patients’ bodies but their minds too. The sense of gratification felt from such service is unparalleled.
Perhaps the greatest problem faced throughout this tale was that of miscommunication. The Merced Community Medical Center or MCMC for short was the place where Lia was being treated. This hospital was the Merced county's only hospital and unlike most rural county hospital it is state of the art, ."..42,000-square foot wing ... that houses coronary care, intensive care, and transitional care units; 154 medical and surgical beds...."3 This was a teaching hospital made up of interns mostly, but also with some great doctors like Peggy Philp and Neil Ernst. Peggy and Neil are married and have children. They graduated together at the top of their class, and have created quite a practice for themselves. Although MCMC is a great rural hospital, it also has the same problems as most rural hospitals do which is the health care crunch, where most of the money goes to the urban hospitals and then the leftover money is spread among th...
I believe that we should always think of others needs and do no harm to others even if they have harmed you in some way. I treat others the way that I would want them to treat me and I expect that others will treat me the same way. I understand that not everyone feels the same as I do and that I cannot control the way that others decide to treat me. I show compassion for everyone I come in contact with and I treat every patient the same way despite the fact that they may be unruly or even try to hurt me. I have accepted the fact that there are some people out there who will try to hurt me despite the fact that all I want to do is help them. I feel that everyone in the health care profession should feel the same way as I do and try to keep themselves from losing their mercy that they show towards others. After being in the health care field for so long, many people stop caring for others and become detached from the patients. I agree that we cannot take every case personally but we still need to retain our humanity and continue to show compassion to fellow
With my clinical placement being in the cardiology unit at Hamilton General I have been exposed to a variety of acute circumstances that required continuous critical thinking skills. Thus, with periods of such high demand and acute care situations it becomes undoubtedly difficult at times to acknowledge the patient as a whole and understand their story. Dealing with an acute patient population and continuous turn over rate it was visible to me that providing therapeutic relationship was not a priority on this unit, displaying empathy was easily missed and consequently, affecting
When I was a new nurse, my preceptor taught me to treat each patient as I would treat my own grandmother. Once I had some experience under my belt, I began to treat each patient how I want to be treated. I also have learned that it is very important to treat all patients the same. I give prisoners, patients that don’t have insurance or any money and patients that have donated millions of dollars to our hospital the same quality care. Although, I am only with the patient for a short time, I attempt to learn as much as possible about my patient, which allows me to give them great
Pain and suffering is something that we all would like to never experience in life, but is something that is inevitable. “Why is there pain and suffering in the world?” is a question that haunts humanity. Mother Teresa once said that, “Suffering is a gift of God.” Nevertheless, we would all like to go without it. In the clinical setting, pain and suffering are two words that are used in conjunction. “The Wound Dresser,” by Walt Whitman and “The Nature of Suffering and Goals of Medicine,” by Eric J Cassel addresses the issue of pain and suffering in the individual, and how caregivers should care for those suffering.
Dave Armstrong is about to graduate from Harvard Business School and is facing three career options. The decision problem that Armstrong should be considering is not which of these three jobs should he take, but rather what job will satiate his career goals. By asking this, Armstrong can gain a complete perspective of his options instead of being confined to three career options that may not be in his best interests. His objectives are not clearly outlined in the case; however, we can infer from the manner in which he is describing the jobs that he would like to have ownership in a company, enjoys thrilling non-office jobs, and wants to grow his network. Also, he has to take into consideration his wife’s objectives for him of having a job
...you have to treat the diagnosis but you also have to treat the whole person. Some nurses lose that focus after a while, but I hope to maintain it throughout my career and treat my patients with the best care I can provide. Viewing this video really impacted my perception of nursing because it enforced in me what it means to be a nurse. A nurse is so much more than people believe it to be. You have to treat the patient physically, but you also have to be their advocate, and for the time being, their friend. You have to be there for them mentally and emotionally and in order for you to treat patients as best as you can, you have to put yourself in their shoes and realize they are not just something you have to fix, but they are real, living and breathing people.