|
|
|
From the Publisher’s Desk
They sacrifice their personal needs, their comfort, and sometimes their well-being
I received a call around midnight from an anxious husband trying to locate his wife Michelle, a registered nurse employed with our company. I looked at my watch and told him that she left the office at 4:00 pm. She had one home-visit to complete and then she was going home. I attempted to calm him, and assured him that I would make a call to the patient’s home to get some information. I located the client phone list and began to dial the patient’s number, fearing that my phone call would jar this poor woman from her sleep. To my surprise, Michelle answered the phone. I asked her why she was still there and why she had not called the office or her husband. She began to explain:
“Dr Brar, when I arrived at Mrs. Smith’s home, I found her lying on the floor. I managed to get her to the bed, but she had an accident. I began cleaning her and just as I finished dressing her, she had another accident. I cleaned and redressed her and then began a full body assessment. I found a slight tear near her ankle. I asked her to go the hospital but she refused. I placed a call to her doctor, but it was an hour before I received a call back. It seems that the MD was dealing with a difficult case at the hospital. He reaffirmed my thoughts that she should go to a medical facility. He feared she might be suffering from dehydration and there was the injury to consider. When Mrs. Smith refused to be transported, I had no choice but to dress the wound and alert her family that she could not stay alone. Then I found out that her family, an only son, was on vacation. The doctor then asked me to get someone from our company to stay with her. By then it was 9:00 pm. I called our schedulers and they began working on sending someone. They found an aide who was finishing her 3-11 shift, but she could not get here until 12:30. Mrs. Smith has needed constant attention this entire time and I just lost track of the time. I knew my husband would be worried, but how could I leave and let Mrs. Smith stay by herself?”
This scenario is repeated in thousands of different homes, hospitals, nursing homes, and medical facilities throughout the world where nurses give themselves to care for their patients. They sacrifice their personal needs, their comfort, and sometimes their well-being. On many occasions, they even sacrifice their family life. A nurse is someone whom most of us have met. We have counted on her from her first touch on our bottoms when we were born to the tender and cuddly warmth that many of us have felt when we were sick, frail, or old.
We sometimes forget what a noble profession these nurses hold. If it were not for them, our feelings of well-being when we are ill would not exist. Though kindness and skill are their trademarks, nurses also bring courage in the face of tragedy, strength to endure the long day and night, and critical accuracy on medical records.
As the nation prepares to observe National Nurses Day in May, I take this opportunity to offer a salute to nurses everywhere for being caring individuals and for their service to our countries, communities, and to the sick and suffering.
Dr. Dev Anuroop Brar, MD
President
|
|
