He might be getting a heart attack
By Nursefrai06
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
Penrith, Australia
February 8, 2013 1:36am CST
There was this man who came into the clinic this afternoon with his wife. He was having chest pains and his doctor requested for an ECG To be done to him. I hooked him up on the machine and then he started having difficulty in breathing. I got alarmed by this and after the procedure, i handed him his results, i told him and his wife to go straight to the hospital because he might be getting a heart attack and we don't have the necessary equipment needed for people having heart attacks.
His wife did not believe me and told me that it wasn't possible and that i was JUST A NURSE. I was insisting on them, telling them that it was urgent. They gave me the payment for the ECG and left. And i am so worried about them. If something happens to him, i feel its on my hands.
3 people like this
10 responses
@deazil (4730)
• United States
8 Feb 13
It is in no way your fault if something happens to him. You did your job. You told them what you could. If they refuse to listen you can't help that. If something happens to him they have only themselves to blame. If I ever need a nurse I hope I would get someone as caring and concerned about my well being as you. Those people are very foolish and insulting. Just a nurse, indeed. Certainly you know much more about medical issues than them. Please, don't blame yourself if anything happens. You can't force people to make intelligent decisions, you can only suggest and hope they listen.
2 people like this
@deazil (4730)
• United States
8 Feb 13
Yeah, nobody wants to hear that. But when it comes to hearing it from a medical professional, and I'm sure you are, you need to listen and maybe, just maybe, take their advice. And it certainly can't hurt. If everything's okay then it all works out for the best. But if something's wrong you have a chance of catching it in time. I had a problem with a nurse once at an emergency room a few years ago. She was yelling in my face that I tried to make her look bad to her co-workers. I have no idea what she was talking about. I could barely stand up and had been brought there by ambulance. But I wouldn't say all nurses are bad because of one miserable b!tch. And I think you take your chosen profession seriously. Don't let one miserable patient spoil it for you.
1 person likes this
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
8 Feb 13
That's weird, how could you possibly make her look bad. Hmm. That nurse has issues. I know I'm a nurse too but then were supposed to be patient advocates and were supposed to treat people the way they deserve to be treated especially when they are clearly compromised and in pain.
To be honest, i didnt like nursing before but then I'm already here, I've made a decision long ago to pursue this, the least i can do is o prove everyone that the decision i made years ago is right. And You're right, i wont let one patient ruin this for me.
1 person likes this
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
8 Feb 13
Aww deazil, 
Im sad about it maybe because the news is quite shocking too, i mean, who would want to hear that they're having a heart attack.Its quite sad that one of the things i like most about nursing has changed. Hmm.. The patients have changed, they see us lowly now. I dont know why. 
I'm just hoping that i influenced them and they'd consider what i said to them.
Im sad about it maybe because the news is quite shocking too, i mean, who would want to hear that they're having a heart attack.Its quite sad that one of the things i like most about nursing has changed. Hmm.. The patients have changed, they see us lowly now. I dont know why.
I'm just hoping that i influenced them and they'd consider what i said to them.1 person likes this
@else22 (4317)
• India
8 Feb 13
How careless they are.Why did they impose the job that was theirs on you?It was their duty to go to a good hospital immediately,because the man was undergoing a severe threat.And why did you accept the money?You should have asked the doctor to tell them to shift the patient to another well equipped hospital.If something undesirable happens to the man,you would be hold responsible.Better you give them the money back and ask them to do the needful.
1 person likes this
@else22 (4317)
• India
8 Feb 13
I understand your problem,but do you have their address?If you do,then try to contact them to know the current position of the patient.And if they are not ready to admit the patient in a hospital,return their money back to them.I wonder how careless they were.
1 person likes this
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
8 Feb 13
No i do not have their exact address, i do have the wife's phone number. That is a very good idea else22, its going the extra mile for something but then it sure seems like the right thing to do. I will do that ASAP.
1 person likes this
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
8 Feb 13
What i dont understand is that he was already feeling difficulty with his breathing and he was already having chest pains but he still didnt consider that what he might have been feeling was serious. I accepted the money because i had to and i was going to have to take the money anyway for the ECG i did which was supposed to be read by the doctor when he arrives. So basically, i wasn't in the position to confine them, i wasn't even in the position to tell them that he was going to have a heart attack. They wouldn't believe me in the first place. It is my conscience that is haunting me now. So maybe i really did something wrong. 
im learning something everyday.
im learning something everyday.1 person likes this
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
8 Feb 13
Personally it cannot be your responsibility for this, and many times is up to the individual having the problems themselves. And if they heed your warnings and go and do something about it, that is truly a plus. Many times, this is why being a nurse would be hard to sit there and watch things go on with people and offer advice, and then feel helpless in the end.
1 person likes this
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
8 Feb 13
It is hard. I feel like i dont understand the purpose of nurses going through rigorous education if no one is going to listen to them. Some doctors feel that they are much higher than nurses. And patients dont even listen too. It is hard when you know things but they don't believe in your knowledge.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136395)
• India
8 Feb 13
You have already warned them and I see no reason why you should take on the responsibility. I just wanted to know whether there is no doctor in your clinic who could read out the ecg report to them. Atleast that is how we go about here.
1 person likes this
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
8 Feb 13
The doctor does not do check ups everyday. In school, we've been taught to identify ST elevations on ECG's so I'm pretty sure with it. And i feel bad is this what they call ignorance is bliss?
is this what they call ignorance is bliss?1 person likes this
@allknowing (136395)
• India
8 Feb 13
No patient will heed to a nurse's advice and that is for sure. When the case is urgent may be you could involve the doctor. Just a thought.
1 person likes this
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
8 Feb 13
Hmm. It would be a good idea to involve the doctor i work for but then she wasn't available at that time. Next time i will do my best to do just that. I guess i have to otherwise i risk their lives.
1 person likes this
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
8 Feb 13
You have informed them the possibility of the man having a heart attack. Now if they refuse to believe you or the doctor who saw the reading of the ECG, then it is their problem if something happens to the man.
1 person likes this
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
8 Feb 13
Thanks Jenny, it is their problem, but i still got worried. Hopefully they will be okay, so,ehow i am hoping that i read the ECG wrong and that maybe his chest pains are caused by just mild ischemia's
1 person likes this
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
8 Feb 13
Thanks mashnn. I'm still hoping he's safe though. I'm having trouble sleeping, its really late now, i have work tomorrow but i cant stop worrying.
I'm still hoping he's safe though. I'm having trouble sleeping, its really late now, i have work tomorrow but i cant stop worrying. 1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
8 Feb 13
hi don't feel that way as you really did try to make them understand the need for moving with it right away. If they were so stupid as to berate you because you are not a doctor he could well get in trouble. You did all you could do really.I do wish that people gave nurses more credit for their knowledge.
@allknowing (136395)
• India
8 Feb 13
I have been in hospitals and I know how important a nurse's role is. Doctors just come may be once a day and vanish but the nurses are there whenever we want them. I have had some wonderful memories of nurses in my life! Long live the nurses!
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
9 Feb 13
That's true, doctors only stay with patients around 3-5 minutes a day but we stand all day carrying out orders from them and both patients and doctors. Nurses spend a lot of money on their education to become a nurse too, that means That they're professionals too just like doctors are.
@jalucia (1431)
• United States
8 Feb 13
Is there someone you could have notified, like his doctor? Is your opinion based on the results of the ECG? I had one of those done when I was pregnant. The woman who did it told me that they weren't supposed to discuss results with me, but that everything was fine. I don't know if that's the practice where you work. But I commend you for letting him know that his life was in danger.
1 person likes this
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
8 Feb 13
It was based off of the ECG because it showed ST elevations on the tracing. I also thought that the difficulty of breathing was due to congestion in his heart. It was true that it was the doctor's job to tell them the results but then he wasn't available at that time and it was urgent business.
Now I'm not sure if i did the right thing. 
1 person likes this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
9 Feb 13
No, it is ot on yur nhands as you gave the necessary advice. You do ot have the blood test that can be done to determine if he was or had had a heart attack? But you did the right thing. Nurse's have often have had so much experience and know the symptoms well. When I took sick last year I had an ECG and a blood test to determine if it was a heart attack. |It wasn't but my first and only angina pain. However, the other tests showed that I needed an emergency Bypass to save my life. Long story with complications. But don't blame yourself at all. Many blessings
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
9 Feb 13
I didnt have the blood test but you're right I've witnessed a lot of heart attacks and had patients who had heart attacks even when i was still in school. Its awful how many heart attacks happen if you think about it. I'm glad you didn't have a heart attack however if you hadn't taken action, your condition might have worsened. Its a good thing that everything's worked out well. Have a good day. Thanks for your response.
@Professor2010 (20162)
• India
8 Feb 13
While in hospital i always trust the nurses only, you have done your duty , thats enough.
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
8 Feb 13
I appreciate that you trust nurses professor, unlike other patients who think nurses are stupid and wont follow unless the doctor says so. Hopefully more people would be like you that respect professions because they too took special education for their jobs.
1 person likes this
