Part 1: Prewriting
Introduction
I always manage to get myself embroiled in an argument with the nurses every time I visit the hospital.
Should the nurse assist the patient in each and every activity they undertake?
Body
Specific example of disagreement
My side
The role of the nurse is to take care of the patients every need including giving bed baths.
The other side
The role of the nurse is to assist patients in the performance of only those activities that they are not able to perform currently due to their disease condition.
Body
Specific example of disagreement
My side
The community nurse should be responsible for the monitoring of the patient’s blood sugar levels.
The other side
The patient should learn to monitor their blood sugar levels since the community nurse will not always be available to help the patient do so.
Management of diabetes is more effective if the patients play a more proactive role in their own management.
Conclusion
The two disagreements that I had with the nurse left me feeling stupid and ignorant and they motivated me to read more about the nursing profession whereby I leant that:
Nursing is a distinct profession guided by goals and scientific rationale.
I should not be too quick in judging others.
I should always listen to the other side of the argument.
Part 3: Final Draft
Every visit I make to our local hospital is always an eye opening experience for me. This is because I somehow always manage to get myself entangled into a disagreement with the nurses. Interestingly though is the fact that all the disagreements touch on the role of the nurse in the hospital and in the community. Like many patients, I do not clearly understand the role of the nurse in the hospital and had always assumed that they were there to attend to the patient’s requests and whims as well as carry out the doctor’s instructions to the letter.
One particular visit will always remain deeply entrenched in my mind. Not long ago, my childhood friend had been admitted in the hospital with abdominal pains and diarrhea following a bout of food poisoning. Being the nuisance my friend normally is, he requested that the nurse should give him a bed bath although he could comfortably walk to the bathroom. The nurse openly turned down his request arguing that she was only supposed to assist my friend in those activities that he could not do for himself and frankly, providing a bed bath was not one. Being the extra sympathetic person I usually am, I felt that the nurse was being unfair to my friend and I did not mince my words in saying so. After all, wasn’t assisting patients in the performance of activities of daily living the reason why she was there in the hospital? Moreover, what care was she giving to my friend who was otherwise feeling well?
The incidence occurred about one year ago when I had gone to visit my neighbor who is usually diabetic at our local hospital after she had been admitted following an episode of hypoglycemia. In my ignorance, I was shocked by the nurse’s request that my neighbor learn to monitor her blood sugar levels using a glucometer. I vehemently opposed the suggestion arguing that if the patient were to do that, then there was no need for having the community nurse who frequently visited my neighbor. In addition, the patient and I complained that asking one to prick him/herself is a bit excessive. The nurse in this particular case argued that the function of the community nurse was to provide follow up in the patients setting so as to assess the risk factors the patient was exposed to in the home environment as well as the patient’s ability to comply with the prescribed treatment regimes at home. In addition, she argued that management of diabetes is more effective when the patient is able to monitor their blood sugar levels. As a matter of fact, she explained that the hypoglycemic episode would have been avoided had the patient been monitoring her sugar levels.
The two incidences when I argued with the nurses left me feeling stupid and ignorant. They inspired me to read more about the nursing profession so as not to display such ignorance in the future. Moreover, I learnt that the duties of the nurse are performed on the basis of achieving a certain goal and are guided by a rationale. I also learnt that I should not be too quick in making judgments and I should always make an effort to first listen to the other side before running my mouth dry.
