In my struggle to find a punchy line to make my personal statement stand
out I consulted with a FY1 doctor I was shadowing at the time. This very
intelligent woman stared the problem square in the eyes and replied simply with
"You work in a hospital right? There must have been a time when you felt
really moved or discovered something that has stayed with you".
I don't think she had finished her sentence before a memory had popped
into my head. I thought of a patient, who for the purpose of this blog we shall
call B.
When I walked onto the ward for the first time, I was greeted eagerly by
a patient with more energy than a jack Russel puppy. She grabbed my arm tightly
and gave me a huge smile.
“Hello” she said.
“Hi” I replied. I wasn’t really sure what to say.
That’s when one of the nursing assistants raced behind me.
“Sorry” she said to me. “B, please let this nice young girl go. It’s her
first day, we don’t want to be scaring her off”
And with that, she let go and continued to race up and down the corridor
with her rollator frame. Later on I found out that she had come into hospital a
week or so prior with no over activity, but one day woke up and didn’t seem to
stop.
One day I was asked to special B for a while. For those of you who don’t
know what specialing is, it is when you provide 1 to 1 care with a patient,
usually a patient who is at high risk of harming themselves. B fitted this bill
as she didn’t stop wandering and could easily fall. Now, I must confess at this
point in the story. I wasn’t happy. I was very annoyed actually. I resented the
fact that I was made to special when I could have been learning something
valuable about the ward. However, when I look back at it, I’m so pleased I had
the opportunity to get to know such a lovely lady.
I quickly got used to her, and her to me. She told me things about her
family, and also told me about the crush she had developed on our Ward Manager.
In the end, I really enjoyed the hours I got to spend chasing her up and down
the ward.
However, soon after, B started to decline. There is one morning that I can remember so clearly. I started at 6am. B was in bed. She was trying to race around but her body couldn't take it, she just slumped backwards and forwards. I noticed that she had been incontinent too.
“Shall we go into the bathroom and get tidied up?” I asked. She nodded
and off we went. Or so we tried. For the first time, this lady who I could have
swore had the strength of 10 men, didn’t have the strength to stand, never mind
walk. Assistance came and we managed to get her onto a commode and into the
bathroom. She sat on the toilet for a while but nothing came of it so we began
the wash. Little did I know B’s body felt differently. As soon as we’d started,
she relieved herself. It trickled over the seat and onto the floor.
“I’m sorry” She slurred. It was as if she was falling asleep just
sitting there. I continued to wash her, put her some fresh PJs on and got her back
into bed. She was still trying to get up, so I sat with her a while. I stroked
her hair until she fell asleep. Then I left and got on with the rest of the
shift. A couple of hours I returned, she was awake now, eating breakfast. I was
sure she had probably forgotten the whole ordeal.
“You look well B.” I said.
“I feel better. Thank you. You were really good with me earlier.”
I swear to this day, I tear up a bit thinking about that moment. It’s
the little things in nursing that go a long way.
B continued to decline. Her family came in to visit her, and they managed
to get her home just a few days before she passed away. The attention and
dedication of the ward team made sure that B passed away at home, surrounded by
people who loved her. She felt safe. That’s what moved me the most.
When I told this to the doctor she paused and replied with “That’s
really nice. Don’t take this the wrong way, but that would be a really good
answer for a nursing interview. Could you say you were interested in what was
going on medically?”
I could say that. I do sometimes reflect on that experience and wonder
what exactly had caused the over activity and then such a rapid decline. But
that is always secondary to my thoughts on how she was cared for and how successful
her discharge was. I have so much respect and admiration for the team who made
that happen and to deny that would take away some of the importance and
sincerity of the experience for me.
That might be a bit nursey for a prospective medical student. Maybe I’ll
be a bit of a nursey doctor. But, I don’t think I mind. In fact I kind of like
it. I think it’s a compliment.
