Ebola

Ok. So here I lay after another long day on the frontline. Yes, that is what I'm calling it now. Why? Because that is what nursing is. Heck, that's what healthcare is. There is so much in the news right now about this Ebola outbreak - not just in West Africa, but here in America. Apparently we now refer to an outbreak as anything that more than one person is diagnosed with. Yes, a man came to America and died of Ebola. That man was not an American, but that's beside the point. The real point in his morose trajectory is that he lied. He lied about being exposed to Ebola. He lied so he could board an airplane and journey to America. Who is to say he didn't lie to most of his original healthcare providers on that initial ER visit? But that's hearsay. What has been reported in the media is that somewhere in his medical chart from the initial ER visit, one nurse wrote that the patient said something about recent travel to Africa or possible Ebola exposure. It has not been made abundentlt clear when during the ER visit he mentioned this. 

Let me tell you as a nurse and as a person who has visited the ER on several occasions: Several people come in and out of your room. Depending on how busy it is, you may tell your nurse something and he/she may not get a chance to mention this to the doctor. They probably make a note of it somewhere and it may or may not get read by others coming in to see the patient. As a nurse, I don't have time to look at every single note written about every single patient in the 12 hours they are under my care -- and that's when I'm taking 4-6 patients. You cycle them in and out faster or give me more to watch after, and I'd be lucky to see all the doctor's orders within an hour of him entering them. And doctors? They have it just as bad. Heavier patient loads. You literally have about 20 seconds to walk in a room and assess a patient. You have to multi-task. You have to be glancing over a patient while looking at their latest vitals and talking to the patient. Guess what?! YOU MISS THINGS! It's not out of I'll will towards the patient. No healthcare provider sees a patient and says to themselves, "Man, I wish this person wasn't here." No, instead it's more like, "Oh, God, please don't let me miss some super important clue disguised as a common ailment." 

Now that 2 nurses have been diagnosed with Ebola (well, one diagnosed and one with presumptive disease), it is starting to open up a line of attack on nurses. Well, guys, guess what? That is the last group of people you want to offend. Nurses are a tough group. We throw ourselves head first into caring for a patient. Yes, a patient may be in isolation, but if I see that person on their way down to the ground, I'm going to dive head first and try to save them. The game of nursing is a fun one, at times, but it is also a challenging one. We are constantly faced with ever-changing guidelines and ratios. We come into this profession to fight alongside our patients. We catch illnesses. It happens. Don't make us out to be the bad guy. Please support us. 

Just as I will advocate for your mother/father/brother/sister/daughter/son/aunt/third cousin twice removed/you get the point, I need you to advocate for me. Just as I will remind you of isolation precautions, sometimes I need you to remind me. Remind me to don a pair of gloves before I take that IV out. Remind me. And I will protect you.