1st week in Med Surg with Ms. Collins

I had a really patient with a really interesting problem. She had loin pain related to hematurea / pylonephritis. It is when the basement membrane of the kidney is very thin so when there is an increase in blood pressure to the kidney, blood is pushed through and blood is in the urine. It is already an issue that can cause a lot of pain. When the patient has a UTI, the pain is supposed to feel like the kidney is exploding in the body. As with most patients with chronic pain, my patients demeaner showed no indications of distress. As a matter of fact, she was working 8 hours a day in the hospital as a project manager at a bank. She says she lives with pain at about a 3 every day even with pain management of methodone from the pain clinic. The problem is that health care workers see drug seekers all of the time and should be skeptical to some extent, but a little research and a little compassion goes a long way.
I got a really good psychosocial assessment from this experience, was able to teach a little about alternate pain management techniques, and felt that the assessment and charting are coming easier. I did a couple of IV pushes, dc'd an IV, saw an infiltrated IV site, got to use nursing judgement to complement the patients opioid med with non-opioid analgesics. Very cool.
Lynn and Tammy (RNs for my patient) were so helpful and informative. I want to be like them when I grow up.
Sue Rigot