As I’ve grown I have learned to trust my gut instinct and allow my intuition to guide me. There have been many times that I should have “listened” to that quiet voice inside at work and in my personal life. As a nurse, that intuition can affect our patient outcomes. I will never forget one particular day that I ignored that inner voice…..
Many years ago (like 12+ years) while I was working on a busy telemetry unit I subdued a thought that could have prevented a fall. Everything happened so fast as you could imagine. I was swiftly walking down the hall on my unit in a rush (as usual) to complete the many tasks on my to-do list. As I passed by one particular room I noticed a patient (who was not my patient) standing next to his bed. I thought to myself, “ugh I hope he doesn’t fall” but, I did not have any reason to suspect he would. He was simply an older gentleman standing near his bed during the day.
Yep, as you have already guessed by the time I got to my medication cart I heard someone scream for help. That man had fallen. Not only had he fallen, he had fractured his hip. Did you know that the 1 year mortality rate after sustaining a hip fracture is almost 60%. Till this day I cringe.
Now, I know this was no fault of mine. I couldn’t possibly walk into every room and perform a fall assessment on each and every patient on my unit. However, I could have responded to my intuition and jumped in that room to see if that man needed assistance. I did not do this. I have since promised myself and my patients I will do this from now on.
Not only in our workplaces but at home and in our personal lives we must trust our intuition. We must choose who deserves our energy and be aware who is draining it. We must trust whether or not someone or something is not serving us. We must trust ourselves and follow that quiet yet certain revelation within us. During patient care these are those moments where we question something or have a feeling something isn’t right. Anytime we experience these moments we must stop, breathe, and question what it is we are doing to prevent a mistake…or a patient from falling. Thoughts?
“Intuition is the discriminate faculty that enables you to decide which of two lines of reasoning is right. Perfect intuition makes you the master of all.”
– Paramahansa Yogananda
The S-BAR 