On a typical medical floor, a patient may stay 3-4 nights in the hospital. Very rarely someone will stay weeks, and when they do, it's taxing on the staff. Often it's a placement issue... Finding a nursing home, getting cleared by physical therapy, waiting for test results, etc. These patients are fairly healthy. They can talk, walk, and there's no doubt they will be returning home soon.
This contrasts greatly with a critical ICU patient. This patient population enters the hospital deathly ill. Physicians and nurses frantically scramble to find the correct diagnosis, send them off for urgent tests, and pump them full of medication to keep them alive. They are sedated and require full care. They must be turned every two hours, have oral care every two hours, have their blood sugar checked every hour, medications constantly adjusted, be fed through a tube, and have their waste collected in bags. They are intubated and cannot speak or eat. These patients may or may not live, and if they do, they may never return to full function. Only time will tell. And that time may take weeks to months.
In the ICU you get to know your patients through their family. Their wives, siblings, children, and grandchildren are the patients voice. They tell the nurse what side they like to lay on, whether they like a room cold or hot, their taste in music, their temperament, and their personality. In the ICU nurses learn the name of family members, how they like their coffee, and what time they'll be in to sit by their loved ones bedside.
This may sound grim. Why would someone enjoy this environment? Wouldn't you prefer the healthy patients? But what I love the most is the transformation. The joy in seeing your patient progress from critically ill to walking the halls. This is where my actions translate in to change...healing. The patient who was completely dependent two weeks ago, is now sitting up in bed talking, eating, and smiling. Their family is grateful. Not only do I feel as though I've made an impact, but the patient has also impacted me. I remember these people I took care of and wonder from time to time how they're doing now. This cannot be experienced with your average medical floor patient. And that is why I love the ICU.
This contrasts greatly with a critical ICU patient. This patient population enters the hospital deathly ill. Physicians and nurses frantically scramble to find the correct diagnosis, send them off for urgent tests, and pump them full of medication to keep them alive. They are sedated and require full care. They must be turned every two hours, have oral care every two hours, have their blood sugar checked every hour, medications constantly adjusted, be fed through a tube, and have their waste collected in bags. They are intubated and cannot speak or eat. These patients may or may not live, and if they do, they may never return to full function. Only time will tell. And that time may take weeks to months.
In the ICU you get to know your patients through their family. Their wives, siblings, children, and grandchildren are the patients voice. They tell the nurse what side they like to lay on, whether they like a room cold or hot, their taste in music, their temperament, and their personality. In the ICU nurses learn the name of family members, how they like their coffee, and what time they'll be in to sit by their loved ones bedside.
This may sound grim. Why would someone enjoy this environment? Wouldn't you prefer the healthy patients? But what I love the most is the transformation. The joy in seeing your patient progress from critically ill to walking the halls. This is where my actions translate in to change...healing. The patient who was completely dependent two weeks ago, is now sitting up in bed talking, eating, and smiling. Their family is grateful. Not only do I feel as though I've made an impact, but the patient has also impacted me. I remember these people I took care of and wonder from time to time how they're doing now. This cannot be experienced with your average medical floor patient. And that is why I love the ICU.
I never really thought about how different this job is for you in ICU, and I especially didn't connect that of course most of your patients would be unable to communicate with you initially. Thanks for bringing me into your world at work:) I can see why it would be a source of fulfillment to see such dramatic transformation and healing, and also to know you have an opportunity to impact the experience for the family in positive ways. Love you...;-) Mommy.
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