Being the patient

It's easy to struggle through nursing school and focus on the material that is in front of you. Even if you're in front of patients. We might fully understand how a procedure works and know how to instruct a patient to relax, but we can never understand their point of view. Sometimes all we need is a change of perspective, and a personal experience to help make our patients have the best one that they can have.

I was a patient recently getting my cavities fixed. I was more than freaked out about getting numb, and it was more than comforting to have a great dentist. I was shakey and teary-eyed while I felt the loss of control of the left side of my face. I was terrified to talk to even see the drill, let alone feel the vibrations through my mouth. 

I realize going through nursing school, and for any type of healthcare professional, it's a "no-no" to tell the patient exactly how things will end up or an exact amount of time it will take. But, being an anxious patient - it was all I wanted to hear. 

I learned a valuable lesson today. There are different personality types of patients that we all need to pay attention to. While there were some things that my dentist couldn't disclose, she made the procedure seem simple and doable by answering all of my questions and talking me through the procedure as she was doing it. It gave me a sense of control and the ability to understand what was going on. I applaud her and definitely am putting this experience in my back pocket.