Guest Post by Jim Hamlett

Several years ago, I experienced severe back pain. The neurosurgeon I saw diagnosed me with a textbook case of a herniated disc. L4 looked like the side wall of a tire that had blown out.

I woke up after surgery with little pain other than that inflicted by the scalpel. Shortly after I returned to full awareness, the nurse on duty, “Pat,” dropped by. She was 50ish, short, friendly, but definitely no nonsense. (If nurses had rank, I’d say she was like a sergeant.)

After a few questions about my general well-being, Sgt. Pat performed a kindness of great nurses everywhere: encouraging good post-surgical bladder habits.

1)  Great nurses know how to motivate (and warn before doing something painful!).

Pat smiled in a commanding sort of way. “Have you been to the bathroom yet?”

I knew where this was headed. “No,” I sighed.

She looked at her watch. “I’ll give you another thirty minutes, then we’re gonna put a tube in you.”

I grimaced. “Thanks.”

Bladders can be motivated. As soon as Sgt. Pat left the room, I grabbed the chin-up bar hanging over my bed and hoisted myself up. My wife jumped from her chair.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to the bathroom,” I announced. “Help me out of this bed.”

With an arm around her shoulder, I hobbled to the bathroom where I stood over the toilet for twenty minutes. In twenty-five, I was back in the bed, greatly relieved. Sgt. Pat showed up as advertised. She opened the door and poked her head in.

“How ‘bout it?”

I gave her a huge smile and a thumbs up.

“Well done,” she said, and left.

2) Great nurses connect with their patients.

Shortly afterward, Sgt. Pat came back to record blood pressure, temperature, and pulse. While she held my wrist and counted out the seconds on her watch, she asked what I did for a living.

“I fly airplanes,” I said.

“How exciting! I’ve always wanted to do that.”

“Never too late,” I said.

As she let go of my wrist, a little smile spread across her face, and she got a far-off look in her eyes. She was dreaming. We all do. She finished her chore with me, then put her hands on her hips and asked a question I don’t often get from women.

“You play golf?”

“I play at it. I’m not very good. You play?”

Like me, she was a duffer. We named a few local courses we’d played, and then talked like we were pros about the intricacies of the golf swing. She left with a word of encouragement.

“I think I can help you get back in shape.”

3) Great nurses know that real medicine does not always come in a bottle.

The next day she showed up with a putter, three balls, and a Styrofoam cup.

“Think you can get out of that bed?” she asked.

I’d already been up a few times. Each one became a little easier. At the foot of the bed, she handed me the putter, placed the balls on the carpet, and walked to the other end of the room with the cup.

“Let’s see how steady you are,” she said.

I drew a bead on the cup and tapped the first ball. It actually nicked the cup. Like any golf fool, I thought I had it in my sights. A dozen attempts later, I finally sunk the first putt. Sgt. Pat let out a whoop! We fooled around like that for about ten minutes, then she had to go. But she left the putter and one small challenge.

“Tomorrow, we compete.”

I can’t remember who won the putting contest, but I can tell you what nurse hit a hole-in-one with her patient care. Sgt. Pat goes down as one of the great nurses of all times. She knew how to motivate, how to connect with her patient, and above all, she knew that real medicine doesn’t always come in a bottle.

 

~Jim is a professional pilot and writer. For thirty years, he’s flown all over the continental U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. You can peek at his novel at Graceful Word. He’s had no trouble with his back since the surgery. And while he doesn’t recommend back surgery as treatment for a bad golf swing, his swing has greatly improved.~

Tags: back surgery, motivating, nurse priorities, patient care, patient connection, post-surgical managment