Nurses - what is reasonable?

For you nurses out there or anyone who knows the answer: as far as hospital care goes, if a patient has a request (for instance for her pain meds), what is a reasonable time frame to expect meds? I don't want to get upset unreasonably but obviously would like needs fulfilled as soon as they can be.

and I think it is sweet you are wanting to avoid being unreasonable, but if your pain is bad enough, you may not have control of being reasonable. The nurses understand this, they realize the patient isn't intentionally raising cain but they hurt. The nurses will educate you on rating pain so you can communicate more clearly too.

As a patient, you need to try hard to anticipate your pain increasing and get that request for meds in advance of the pain escalating to where it is more you can bear. I know for me, I can feel the pain increase in a predictable way and almost got the timing down about when to move on the meds.

It never hurts to call in advance and ask the nurses how long on average it takes to answer a call. A lot depends on the census of patients and the staffing levels, but I do think nurses do want to respond to all patients promptly. My job as that person lying in the bed is to help the nurses with priority setting by clearly communicating my needs. Pain chart is a good tool for this.

A trick with the PCA pump, if you are getting on of those, and if you have the leg pump thingie. The leg pumps once per minute, so you can count the pumps and know when to hit the button.

Samantha:

A suggestion: do ask about the PCA pump. PCA stands for "Patient Controlled Analgesia" and you have control over the button.

Unfortunately, thanks to staffing issues, even the best of hospitals have a hard time answering call bells. However, if someone is there with you, that's your best support for requests. Yes, ring the call bell...but send your "support person" out to the desk if you don't get a timely reply.

It can take as long as half an hour or more, realistically, to get what you need: they may not have it on the floor, they may need a doctor's order, they may get tied up with an emergency, etc. But being there at the desk, in person, makes it really hard to ignore.

I work in a hospital (an excellent one) and was a patient in my own institution. There was a patient who was very ill at the time I was there, and it would take three nurses to meet her needs -- often for an hour at a time. So I got my walking in by going to the desk in person to ask for what I needed. Most nurses and aides do try to answer as quickly as they can, but attempting to anticipate your needs and having someone there to help is still your best bet at getting prompt assistance.

I would ask for my meds, for example, about an hour prior to going for a walk, knowing that it might take nearly that long to get what I needed. Don't wait until you are writhing in misery...that only activates more pain receptors and makes the pain more difficult to control.

Good luck! Most of us healthcare professionals try as hard as we can to give prompt service...but it's not always possible or optimum.



Audrey

If the PCA machine is available- GO for it! I've used it for 2 surgeries and it's great. Everyone wins- the nurses and the patients.