remember … to your patient you don't really look like you think you look
Post on 31-Oct-2016
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TRANSCRIPT
or many patients, the trip to the operating room is one of extreme anxiety. Worried F that “something will go wrong and I’ll
never wake up,” the patient finds himself in an Alice in Wonderland world where his visual perceptions are distorted.
The trip, the patient’s last conscious moments before surgery, can be a good experience or a bad experience. Some patients, especially those who have had prior surgery or preoperative visits from OR nurses, know what to expect and are less apprehensive. “I had a sense of relief and happiness knowing that it would soon be over.”
Lack of communication becomes acutely stressful. “Nobody bothered to tell me what they were going to do. The anesthesiologist clamped a mask over my face without a word.”
With vision distorted, the patient relies on words and touch to relate to this strange and sometimes frightening world. They often misinterpret routine procedures. “I thought the monitor electrodes were to shock the heart.” A simple, honest explanation of the procedures, which nurses take for granted, is reassuring to the patient.
A touch of the hand shows concern for the patient as a human being. “The nurse took my hand and squeezed it, and I relaxed and went to sleep.”
“This is it. She is trying to be pleasant, but her task is clear. It is difficult to get on the cart gracefullY9 to Preserve one‘s dignity and appear together.”
“I feel as if I am relinquishing control of my life to someone else. ” 1199
That's why a compassionate voice and a reassuring touch are so important.
"She told me we would be going on the elevator. Knowing what is happening eases my anxiety."
"For her (the elevator operator) today will be just another day, but I face the unknown."
"As I wait, I hear conversations and activities around me. It is confusing and upsetting." 1200
“The OR nurse accompanies me into the OR. She tells me a funny story. I don’t think the hypo is affecting me, but I can’t remember her story. She holds my hand, and I have a feeling of complete trust and security. I remember looking at the big lights, and then out.”
The photos were taken by Robert Wood at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. The quotations are from patients all over the country.
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