Storytelling in Hospital care Nursing

Foreward:

In nursing, there is a lot of hands-on practice involved.  Nurses often learn from mistakes and successes either of themselves or of others.  These stories are usually passed down verbally, oftentimes by nurses who have worked for many years.  The stories are often told with a specific emphasis on what many nurses do wrong- or what they did right that was crucial.  They help new nurses and students to learn what to do and what not to do.  

I made up an example of a story of a nurse Sarah with two viewpoints  

Example Story:

• A nurse who already works at the hospital might tell a story of another nurse who had messed up, hoping to convince the new nurse not to do the same thing.

• Story: “Sarah was working late one night, completely exhausted- she’d been working for 24 hours straight and with no breaks.  She’d covered a shift for a friend and was in her last hour before she had to go home.  All night she’d been running from place to place and she was exhausted.  Sarah knew she should be making her rounds one last time before the next nurse got there, but the patients were all fine just a half hour ago, they’d be fine.  She sat for a bit, allowing her legs to relax and passed on the charts to the incoming nurse.  As she was heading out the door, she heard a scream.  One of the patients, Eric, was on the floor, lifeless.”   

Analysis:

As an incoming nurse, or a student studying about nursing, there are many errors that are pointed out in this story to help persuade the nurses to be on their guard, giving 100% until the end.  It also persuades nurses to be smart about their working hours- focusing on the importance of the patient.

Retelling the Story:

• If the nurses telling the stories really want to persuade the new nurses to work better, they should focus on love and care as a motivator so they’ll keep pushing even when they don’t feel like it.

• “Eric was about 5 years old when he was rushed to the hospital because of a heart malfunction.  He was the youngest of 4 brothers and sisters who loved him very much.  He had been in the hospital for about 2 months.  There was excitement Eric’s family’s home as they knew he would be coming home in just 2 short days.  They couldn’t wait to play with him and just hug him.  Little did they know, after that night they wouldn’t get to see their brother again- something that could have been prevented had Sarah, one of their favorite nurses, made her last rounds that night (had he been helped immediately, he would have survived.  The family came into the hospital with tear stricken cheeks.  Eric was gone.  Sarah sat, helpless.”  

This focus takes more of an approach on the family and allowing those feelings of loving the people to help persuade the nurses to be at the top of their game, and not allowing themselves to slack off. They think of what good can happen if they do their job.  Everyone gets exhausted, but they need to recognize lives are at risk here.  Stories can also help more people to want to go into the profession of nursing when the nurse does do her job and saves a life.