Nurses Making a Difference

I felt totally helpless. My breathing was labored, my body jarred by shaking chills. I was afraid to close my eyes—maybe they wouldn’t open again. Any rational thinking was gone. Then my nurse, Karen, came in and sat by my side. Her words soothed me. She held my hand and somehow I knew everything would be alright. She made all the difference.

This was my experience in 1994 when I suffered a postpartum hemorrhage. My exceptional nurse, Karen, brought me through those frightening hours until my blood volume was restored. When a patient is as ill as I was, that patient completely loses their identity, power and control over their own destiny. They are no longer a doctor, a nurse or a teacher. As health care professionals we are no different from the patient in the next bed, totally reliant on the hospital system to care for us. The sicker we are the truer this becomes. We have to wait for the call light to be answered and for our pain medicine to be brought, just like everyone else. It was a very humbling experience for me to have to call someone to use the bathroom or to get a cup of water. What is amazing is that amid all of this helplessness, it is the nurse who has the ability to turn the entire experience around. She has the opportunity to make a patient feel safe and well cared for. Karen did this for me 15 years ago.

The nursing profession has a critical role to play in the hospital. Nurses are responsible for the hour-to-hour patient assessment, as well as assure the proper delivery of prescribed treatment while maintaining a nurturing environment. They must be the Florence Nightingales for each and every one of their patients.

Although I began to understand this in 1994, it has become increasingly clear to me as I continued practicing medicine during the last 26 years. Nurses are our patients’ keepers. They are the physicians’ eyes and ears. They must execute a physician’s instructions in an accurate and timely fashion while maintaining the atmosphere of genuine caring.

As I round at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, I make it a regular practice to introduce myself to new physicians. I always ask them how things are going and how they like the facility. Inevitably they say they like this hospital better than all the other hospitals. It’s not because of the vaulted ceilings, mahogany furniture or the VIP doctor’s lounge. We don’t have any of those things. The number one reason they like Good Samaritan Hospital is because of our nurses and the excellent job they do, keeping all the pieces of care together.
We celebrate Nurses Week in May, but beyond that, we want to thank our nurses and recognize them every week for the great work they do all year round. Physicians, please share your appreciation with our outstanding nursing staff.