Im performing a self-intervention. Last night I had a visceral reaction to a woman who was performing a faux allergic reaction. Her mother was beside herself calling for the doctor while another nurse and I calmly assessed her airway and lung sounds while checking her pulse ox (lungs clear, 100% O2 sat, no oropharyngeal edema). I tried to tactfully reassure the mother that her throat was not closing. When the mother asked why her daughter was behaving this way, I suggested anxiety, to which the daughter starting speaking, further evidence that her throat wasnt closing (which I pointed out and she promptly stopped speaking). I was leaving for the night but couldnt help but shake my head. Top billing in my brain for why Ive seen people do this: 1) attempting to jump ahead in the priority order for patients waiting to come into the ER, 2) anxiety, 3) attention-seeking behavior, to name a few within my comprehension. One nurse quietly communicated with her eyes what we were all thinking and at that moment I felt the need to pump my brakes. It is utterly and completely annoying when people do this because it diverts resources often most needed elsewhere; the squeakiest wheels are most often the ones that dont need to be in the ER. However, the reasons that people do these things are often much more complicated than being self-centered or selfish. I dont know this womans story. Im almost always blunt and firm no matter the etiology of this behavior (mental illness, etc.) because I do believe we can swing too far in terms of being permissive in not drawing distinct boundaries limiting certain behaviors even in the setting of mental dis-ease, but judging her to be crazy does nothing to facilitate a connection with the patient that may just cut through the bullshyte and get to the who/what/when/where/why of the behavior. Its a dance and a difficult one-not rewarding the behavior yet not becoming part of the reasons the person may be here in the first place all the while attempting to build a bridge. Judgment is necessary in my job and Im human 100% of the time therefore my brain often calls a spade a spade before I can throw up a filter, but if that judgment cant be included in legal documentation, it likely isnt helpful in remedying the situation or at least encouraging forward progress towards a solution. LOL. Think I just read myself.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 17:18:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015