In my last post, I wrote about a challenging case where a patient’s sister, who was a nurse, tried to limit the amount of pain medication we were administering. Now I’d like to share my feelings about being a nurse turned patient/family member. 

Many of you who are members of NursingCenter or who follow this blog already know the story about when my sons were born. It was a surreal time in my life when they were born prematurely and spent several months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). In minutes, I had switched roles from critical care nurse to new mother of two critically ill babies.  Before this, I had seen family members through illness and surgery and even sat by the bedside of my grandmother when she died in the unit where I worked. However, I think it was my time as a NICU parent that really exposed me to what it was like to be on the “other side.”

As anyone who has ever been there can tell you, it is scary! Sure my knowledge and clinical experience were helpful in understanding what was happening, but I remember quickly (even immediately) reaching the point of being completely overwhelmed. While I understood terminology and the pathophysiology, I was used to caring for adults - premature babies were a whole different world. “What about his tachycardia?” I would think. Then, the nurse, without even knowing my question would tell me, “He’s not tachycardic, a heart rate of 140 bpm is normal!” I guess she could just see the panic on my face!

It was very stressful for me to be aware of all the potential complications that could come upon my sons. Sure, I knew that dopamine was necessary to perfuse “Baby A’s” kidneys. I also knew that when the nurses increased the dose, that the goal had changed and now maintaining his blood pressure was necessary. I didn’t want to know the possible consequences if it extravasated or that his high ventilator settings could cause a pneumothorax. 

I know that my knowledge and experience helped me advocate for my sons, be involved with their physical care, and explain what was happening to the rest of our family. I am so grateful for the staff that, while they knew about my background, they also saw me as a new mother who was scared.  So what did I learn from this? Yes, patients and family members, whether they are health care professionals are not, are more informed and educated about their health care than ever. That is a good thing, but it is important to remember that we are all human beings first and in times of crisis, we all need compassionate care and a kind ear.