The Other End of the Stethoscope

I love the book, The Other End of the Stethoscope; it was a perfect fit for us. It helped to make me realize the dos and don’ts of patient care. Also, it made me realize what a patient thinks of us, and how we can better our patient care/relationship. The book was an easy read that was hard to put down once I started with the first page. I was put at ease real quick because Marcus answered lots of my questions and concerns. The book definitely helped me grow as a soon to be nurse. I will be carrying a lot of his personal experiences with me to help me provide the best care possible to my patients. It is hard to remember 3 clinical experiences where I was the “watch dog,” “over-apologizer,” and “rocked the boat.” But I was able to come up with a vague description for all of them. Recently, I was the “watch dog” for a patient. She was not breathing well. Her respirations were 8 and CO2 monitor was reading 50. I definitely did not like that. The nurse was notified and we moved her closer to the nurse’s station. But even though we did that, I was still on edge. I was constantly going in and out of her room to check her respirations and CO2 monitor. I think for a while I’m going to be the “watch dog” for all my patients. Hopefully through time and experience, I will be able to relax and not be the “watch dog.” An experience where I was an “over apologizer” is easy to come up with. Throughout my clinical experience, I found that saying “I’m sorry” came out very easy. I think I said it way too much. I am working on cutting back on it, and use more therapeutic words. Every time I felt like I was bugging them or during a procedure that I was doing, I tended to apologize a lot more in those type of situations. I am having a difficult time coming up with an experience where I “rocked the boat.” I’m pretty sure I have but I may not have been aware of it. I have had plenty of patients who have been short with me. Those are the ones that do not go so smoothly. It usually happens when they are in extreme pain and I ask if they want anything for it. They look at me like, “duh!” Then I apologize and just tell the patient that I have to ask if they want anything. I can’t just give it to them without asking. Some understand while some do not. It is frustrating because I am not trying to “rock the boat.” I’m just trying to do a thorough job controlling their pain.