I've been having an online discussion with another one of my dear friends of the heart, Euchre Star. Euchre Star is my neighbor, fellow church-goer, and we've been talking about the desensitization that medical professionals must nurture in the field. She told me about an experience she had when she passed out while watching a bone marrow biopsy. Is it bad that I felt myself getting faint just thinking about a bone marrow biopsy? I've heard that anything pertaining to bone marrow procedures is extremely painful and scarring.I can even make myself lightheaded when I think about this news segment that Jack and I watched, where an orthopedic doctor replaced a patient's vertebrae with a little piece of plastic (rubber? resin? silly putty?). The doctor hammered the plastic vertebrae into place, with a regular hammer out of my garage, and it dramatically echoed in the OR...so much so that you would have thought he was nailing up drywall.
I don't think so, Tim!
Is it bad when we start utilizing Ace Hardware items in the OR? Is it bad that I'm kind of flushed just writing about these issues?! Nurse Starbucks, Euchre Star! I think I now need advice on how to revive myself, as passing out seems pretty inevitable! Do they still make smelling salts?
I used to have a severe problem with blood and 'smells,' but I got over that pretty quick in nursing school and developed an even greater eversion to sputum. I have now made my peace with sputum, although from time to time, it rears its ugly head and makes my stomach turn a little. My biggest issue has always been dealing with death. I haven't had to deal with this a lot yet, (thankfully) but I try to put myself in these situations to force myself to deal with it. As with anything, you just have to put yourself up against your fears, and think not about yourself and your own issues with what is going on, but about the patient on the table. They will look to you for support, and if you freak out, it will make it harder for them. A wise woman repeatedly says to me, fake it till ya make it, which applies to these situations as well. Even if you are scared or grossed out, pretend not to be, because I'm sure the situation is scarier and grosser to the patient. And here is a big part of my nursing compassion...what if that were my grandfather, my mother, my husband on the table? What if that were me? How would I want the people around me to behave? It takes a lot of strength to get over your own drama but it takes time, too. You may not have a lot of time, but you are oozing with strength, so I'm not worried that you'll be able to handle even the grossest of medical scenarios!!!
ReplyDeleteHoney, you'd be AMAZED at what you can get through when you ask and let God give you the strength. I have watched open heart massage, massive traumas come into the ER, seen some crazy ass open wounds, helped hold kids having grand mal seizures, seen people rip out IVs, chatted with people while they used the bed pan. During my one year rotation, I got almost fully "initiated" with bodily fluids. One of my nurse buddies, Ken, and I were discussing it and he said you aren't fully there until you've had spinal fluid splattered on you but that's so rare that he thought for a chaplain I was pretty well initiated (saliva, urine, feces, blood). I never thought in a million years I could handle it but God gave me the grace and abilities. Now when parishioners show me their wound vacs (and the goo filling up the vac bag), healing scars, or open sores I barely flinch. Having had MRSA helps-- dealing with my own disgusting sores/wounds makes me even more immune. Ask God to help you... if it's meant to be, you'll be fine. And you'd be surprised that since you aren't a doc or nurse, you won't always have to be as close as you might think. I doubt you'll be holding the hands of children as they're having pick lines inserted (yes- been there, done that). You can do it, honey. K McD had faith in me and I know he'd have faith in you too!!
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