During my second week of clinical, I received a page from an obese patient who wanted to go to the bathroom. She insisted that she could walk fine but only needed help standing up from the bed. When we were about to mobilize, however, a staff nurse hurriedly stopped my actions and insisted we use a mechanical lift. I was quiet when the nurse and the patient argued her plan of action. After several minutes, the patient relented. Unfortunately, this situation put her in a disheartened mood for the rest of our shift, calling us distrustful and repudiating the notion that we had her best interests in mind.
I was very confused with what transpired because I thought I was integrating “quality improvement principles” (i.e. “It’s Your Move”) according to the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta to facilitate my patient’s needs (CARNA, 2013, p. 9). Moreover, I was encouraging the patient to practice independence, which is a feat greatly encouraged on the orthopedic unit. However, the staff nurse later explained that patients often claim that they can walk by themselves but ultimately end up jeopardizing the safety of themselves and their nurses. Even if the nurse did not say this outright, it was hinted that my small physique, no matter how well I manipulated my body mechanics, would have resulted in serious injury to both parties.
This insinuation made me pause and really think about what almost transpired. Even if I had the good intention of encouraging my patient to walk with little assistance, I would have ultimately endangered her life and created more problems in the long run. I also realized that future patients under my care will likely be bigger and taller than me. Unfortunately, this is not something I can easily, if at all, modify at this point. It was a very frustrating conclusion, and it made me feel dejected for the rest of the week.
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