It was a busy shift, right from the start. It actually did get better after the first few hours, but it left me with some important reminders.
No matter how busy it is for me (the nurse), always take the time and listen to what your patient is saying.
Simple, right? When you're with your patient, all of your focus is on that person. What she is saying, her verbal and non-verbal cues, her fears, her excitement of the upcoming birth. You (the nurse) must leave all of the beeping, call bell ringing, the sundry list of things you need to do for your other patients - leave it all at the door when you focus on that one person. I suppose you could call this mindfulness. Taking in the here and now, the emotional and physical things that are going on with your patient.
You find out the little things (to you) that were big things (to her) that went so wrong about her last birth experience. Her fears of feeling pain during her c-section, her fears of multiple medication reactions, her strong dislike for how her nurse last time disregarded her physical and emotional feelings.
What should a good nurse do?
Stop what you're doing (the nursing tasks - they can wait a few minutes!).
Listen to what she's saying to you. Show relaxed body language - sit down in a chair instead of standing over her in the bed. Nod your head to show that you're listening. Clarify statements, or just simple mirror back what she's saying to you. Let her know, verbally and non-verbally, that you are here for her, and that her experience this time will be better. Offer suggestions, things that include her participation and control of a situation that can be so utterly out of her own control.
Smile.
Ask her about her unborn child. Boy? Girl? The baby's name? Use the baby's name when talking about or to the baby after the birth.
The little things really do help make such a better experience for a family welcoming another little human being into their world.
It's such an amazing experience to be involved with on a daily basis.
Just for the record:
