Module 5 To err is HUMAN!!

Nursing 6004 Module 5 Blog Entry

Question:  How did the readings influence your perceptions of your own decision making?

Scary! I know that I am not perfect and like anybody, I have my good and bad days but I did not realize the possible variability in my own decision making. I knew that variability was there but not to such a great extent.  I was thinking of this today when I was in the clinic giving a consultation to a new patient.  I have a fairly rigid approach to my health care delivery with regards to decision making, but with minor adjustments, my communication can be slightly different and greatly alter the outcome of patient care.  I do think that with this increased awareness of my own susceptibility to err, I will be more careful.  For quite some time now, I have wanted to write a template for patient care, a check off list if you will, to help me remember all the things I should do in certain patient visits.  I would need a new consult template, this would have to be a different template for new consults seeking options for neck, back, leg or arm pain.  I would also need templates for follow-up visits for each one of these issues, post operative visits, etc. They would have to be adjustable and mobile.  I can't imagine doing this for a family practice office but it would be even more of a necessity there!  It just seems like a mammoth task when you think of all the variables that would have to be addressed.   The readings point out many of the weakness that we as providers have and I addressed these in my Journal. They also address the importance of tools that help guide our clinical thinking. So, to answer the question, how did the readings influence your perceptions of your own decisions making? I would have to say, it brought into clear view the possibility for err.  The pitfalls of relying solely on experience and gut instincts, have helped me to consider tools that I can use to protect myself from such error.

Module 4 Blog Post

In my clinical area I do a lot of patient teaching.  In the course of 1-2 patient visits I am usually able to diagnose the patient and develop a treatment plan.  Once the treatment plan is complete there is often a large amount of patient teaching that needs to be done.  I find the lay public to be very unfamiliar with disease of the spine and worse yet there is a great deal of misinformation. Consequently I spend a great deal of time teaching anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, surgical procedures etc. For the most part I really enjoy this part of my job.  Most people are very quick to assimilate the information and seem to be relieved once they know what is going on and how it could effect them. 

Occasionally I will have a student follow me.  I find this very enjoyable depending on the interest of the student.  If the student is simply there to fill the credit as was the case with my last student, then it can drag a bit.  If the student is there to learn as much as possible and asks a lot of questions then I find I trust the student more, and want to help them as much as I can.

I do not believe that there is a nursing role that does not include teaching of some kind.  I work in the OR and often consider the role of circulating nurse.  They have a very technical job that is done mostly with charts, equipment and sleeping patients.  Even in this case there is a copious amount of teaching that takes place.  They have to teach the patient pre-operatively, they have to teach the OR staff, they have to teach nursing assistance and orderlies. So, I dont think there is any nursing role or provider role that teaching is not a mojor portiong of that job.