“Each person is looking at the exact same situation... differently.” - Audrey Friedman, RN

Reading and Experiencing give different perspectives.

In my clinical work in our Medical and Trauma Intensive Care Unit, I will frequently precept new nurses and mentor them through their beginning cases and years in our unit.

The part I love most is being able to create the big picture... take the case apart, look at the single pieces and help them put the case back together with a new perspective.

Sometimes, the most important part of helping clients is helping them see the case from many perspectives...

A patient's distress can seem overwhelming...

THE NURSE may see people coming from every direction wanting what seems like 20 different things for the same patient.

THE PATIENT says they are in pain all the time and keeps asking every 5 minutes for more pain medication.

THE FAMILY keeps coming out to the desk saying their family is in pain and demanding the nurse do something NOW!

THE SURGEON wants to know why the patient is calling them directly saying the nurse won't give them more pain medication.

THE PHYSICIAN PAIN SPECIALIST discontinues a PCA [patient controlled analgesic] self-administered narcotic pump and orders oral narcotics for pain only.

THE NURSES ON THE UNIT wonder why your patient is on the light every 5 minutes.

THE NEW NURSE looks at me frantically, wondering why I am calmly choosing to sit her down and explain how to evaluate the situation instead of running into the patient's room with pain medication.

Each person is looking at the same situation differently.

THE PATIENT sees their history of uncontrolled pain for years. Now with a surgery, they were told there would be no more pain and yet it is worse than ever.

THE FAMILY feels helpless, watching their family member be sleeping and hard to wake up one minute, screaming the next minute and yet falling asleep during conversations and dropping their water because they fell asleep.

THE SURGEON just wants the facts... are we medicating or not? What did we give? What's the plan? Why did their patient text their cell phone during another surgery?

THE PHYSICAN PAIN SPECIALIST has given a transition pain plan using multiple modalities that if used correctly, will address the pain in multiples of time, dosing, category of narcotics and non-narcotics, side effects and ways to administer the medications that should achieve a goal of awake, functional and able to participate in therapy instead of being in a stupor.

THE NURSES are busy. Call lights are noisy and annoying. Everyone wants something NOW!

The key to being effective is seeing all the perspectives and being able to respond to all of them appropriately.

Is it possible? Yes.

If you can see the case from each perspective.

A nurse has real-life experience inside the scenes of a medical record and can help you understand the story.

Your case can be told in a small amount of medical records or endless volumes that seem to take over your office. It takes a lot of time to review!

Someone who knows the inside of the medical record can help you understand the story quickly, efficiently and precisely.

That saves you time to do what you do best... evaluate the case and take action.

Helping You Find The Answers.

Audrey Friedman, RN

Friedman Medical Legal Consulting, LLC