During my Medsurg II rotation, I took care of a patient who had herpes simplex encephalitis and as a result had sustained significant speech and motor impairments. The patient had already been on the unit for a couple weeks prior to my assignment and had undergone treatment with lactulose for the ammonia build-up in the brain. This patient was a white female in her later sixties to seventies, which was by no means old. At this point in her care, she was completely dependent on the staff to care for all of her needs. She was on a Kangaroo pump for her gastrostomy tube and had daily PT/OT to try to encourage muscle movement. This patient was awaiting placement at a high level care facility as there was little chance her family would be able to care for her many needs. 

I remember walking into the room and assessing. First, I saw the patient. She was lying in bed motionless, unable to turn her head towards the door to see who was entering. She was placed in a low fowler’s position with pillows off setting pressure on her back end. I walked into the room further and could hear her Kangaroo pump working. On the wall across from her bed there were posters filled with pictures of her and her family. When I had first walked into the room, I was ready to assess a stranger. When I saw her pictures, I saw a mom, a wife and a possible grandmother. The pictures were of family vacations and reunions, it appeared she was from a middle-class household. It was obvious that she had a great support system in place. It made me sad to see her in this condition. This was obviously something that had come on suddenly and no one was prepared for it. 

I look back and I now reflect on seeing those pictures and how important it was for me to see them. It allowed me to view this patient in a different light and truly allowed me to see them as a person rather than a patient that I was just going through the motions with. I think the healthcare system needs to do better viewing the patient as a person rather than a job. I think this problem is likely due to the fact that nurses have such a large patient assignment that they truly don’t have the time to get to know their patient on a more personal level. I think in these instances, issues of abuse or life-stressors can get missed by the nurse.