My impression of Mdm C was that she is a soft-spoken lady who cannot really express herself clearly. Every time when other nurses and I found her sliding or sleeping slanted, we would just inform her that we will be shifting her to an upright position and we would just shift her, sometimes even without waiting for her response, which would generally be lagged and inaudible.
Today, I was tasked with feeding Mdm C--our first "real" interaction. Throughout the whole process, she kept sliding to one side and kept her eyes closed. I thought she was just like one of the less responsive patients I sometimes see. Therefore, I did not even try to make small talk with her but just asked her to open her mouth when she stopped chewing and swallowing (ie. when she had already finished all the food in her mouth). However, from time to time, I would have to stop feeding just to drag and/or push her upright. Thus, the whole feeding process took up quite some time and became very draggy.
However, another student nurse who had been interacting with her for the past week came and talked to her. She asked Mdm C why she was eating with her eyes closed. Mdm C immediately responded by opening her eyes and smiled sheepishly! Furthermore, when that nurse asked her to sit up straight, she also responded and pushed herself upright! Oh my god! She is responsive! Had I known that or even try to talk to her in the first place, I could have saved myself all the trouble of dragging her upright by myself and that the both of us could have had a more enjoyable feeding time!
Moral of the story: Do not assume! I should talk to my patients instead of just focusing on my task. When I do that, I may just save myself some trouble and may even make my patients happier.
Back to Reflections
No comments:
Post a Comment