I work on a cardiac unit, the busiest unit in the hospital, the unit that makes the most money for the hospital. And when I say busy I mean insane busy!! Gads! Some days completely SUCK, others are "ok" and some moments in a day are great, tho it seems the Good Days are not as frequent as the "ok" or BAD days.
I relate nursing stories to my mother; she enjoys hearing them [?]. I shared a Good Day story with my mom and she suggested I share it here.
I can share this story without jeopardizing this man's identity. I shall refer to him as "K-----". K----- is 74, from Ghana and he is here on a mission trip.
I received my assignment @ 0700. K----- was a status post stent from the day before. Ok, no big deal, I thought, but then saw that the man did no speak English, he spoke only French. Uh oh, I thought, I need to dredge up 3 years of high school French!! I walked in and said: "Bonjour, je m'appelle Heather. Je parle francais un peu." His face lit up, he smiled a great big smile and said: "Bonjour, je m'appelle K-----." He rattled off something else in French, he seemed very appreciative, and I dumbly smiled and nodded.
K----- was [is] also diabetic. I needed to give him some insulin coverage before lunch. I found a translation website on the web, entered the phrase "insulin for diabetes" (or something like that) and I wrote down the translation. I got the insulin drawn up and went in with my note. He read it and offered up his arm. We smiled; I said: "Merci."
K----- was to be discharged. I used our blue translation phone to explain the discharge process, some paperwork and for him to call his ride to come and get him at a certain time, and bring clothes to wear.
[sidebar: The blue translation phones are great! One calls a number, enter a code and you get a live person on the line. I have a hand-set, the patient has a hand-set. I speak to the translator, they repeat what I say to the patient. It's great!]
Well, K-----'s retinue showed up, 5-7 men (!), many from Ghana, and thankfully who spoke some English. I was able to print out the medication information in French, but the discharge instructions would only print in English or Spanish. (note to self: that needs to change, must write a note to the higher-ups to change that!)
K----- was apparently quite taken with me and sang my praises to his cohorts. They were pleased he was doing so well. He would be in the country for a few more weeks and would be able to follow-up with the cardiologist while he was still here. He also got a special "prescription" to allow him to get another visa in December to come back to the states for his 6 month follow-up! Gee, that's quite a $$$ follow-up visit!! Do you know how much plane tickets are to Ghana, Africa? About $2000+/-!!!!
I was glad I could communicate as well as I did that day. And my charge nurse know what I was doing too, and she was quite pleased with me. I wish I could have had the time to explain the exit survey we ask patients to fill out but it was too complicated to have the blue phone translator do it with me. So only I shall know I did good work that day, and now you do too! :)
I hope I made a difference that day, and our [US] healthcare system made a difference in this man's life too. He was fortunate enough to be here in the US and get excellent health care. (Even tho we are #37 in the world for healthcare!) Would he have lived if the same thing had happened in Ghana?
I wonder if I will see him in December?
