Comments on: Speaking Up For the Patient

By: Linda Doan

Linda Doan — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:18:26 +0000

This is in response to “Pained”. From a medical professional as well-I thank you & hope that you would be one of my relative’s caregivers at some time!
Keep on advocating for your employees as this is what the College of Nurses would expect.

By: Day 246. Weighing the Pain Scale. | heidiwriting

Day 246. Weighing the Pain Scale. | heidiwriting — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:38:26 +0000

[…] of your motives. One thing to keep in mind (I learned this thanks to Cathy, who sent me a very interesting journal article): beginning in March 2012, hospitals will receive large amounts of Medicare and Medicaid funding […]

By: Forever Frustrated

Forever Frustrated — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:53:17 +0000

Thank you so much for the work that you do in the health care field. It is clear that you care very much about the patient’s pain and suffering. Patients need a voice when they cannot speak for themselves. I agree that there is a time and a place for these medications; for example patients admitted to ICU, palliative care patients and post op patients. I definitely do not want patients to suffer with unnecessary pain but I want health care teams to be cognizant of the highly addictive nature of these types of medications when deciding to start treatment and implement some type of mechanism to assist patients with titrating off of these meds and address any addiction that may follow treatment. My mother was started on pain medications to treat pain following knee replacement surgery 10 years ago and has never stopped taking them. Her problem with prescription medication has snowballed over the last 10 years and has been enabled by her family doctor. My understanding of these meds is that they are really only intended for short term use.

By: CD

CD — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 06:42:46 +0000

Growing up with an RN for a mom, I heard many stories of physicians who were callous to a patient’s pain. I’ve had surgery a few times and know what it’s like to be in acute pain. I’ve had some nurses who were aware of being on top of pain management and who made sure mine was managed. I’ve also tried to be a hero and suffered when I didn’t want to be “drug seeking”. I don’t think after surgery or during a time of intense physical pain is the time to address a drug problem. I don’t have one but I know people who do and I still think if they have just had surgery, they need pain management. As another poster said, it’s usually not drug addicts in the ICU, though I am sure that happens, too.

By: Slccom

Slccom — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:05:22 +0000

Forever Frustrated, my heart goes out to you. However, we are talking about people in the Intensive Care Unit. Not too many people who are seeking drugs get themselves admitted to the ICU.

By: Forever Frustrated

Forever Frustrated — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:15:44 +0000

I have to admit that I found this article very painful to read. As the daugher of an alcoholic / addict, I would be relieved if a doctor was to refuse to treat my mother’s so called pain with more medication. For the past 43 years I have known my mother to be an alcoholic/addict. When I was growing up she had a drinking problem and as a result of her alcoholism she now has cirrhosis of the liver. She stopped drinking about 14 years ago but that didn’t stop the addiction. For the past 10 years she has been using, abusing, misusing and/or addicted to some very powerful medications and her family doctor is dishing out the medications liberally. I have witnessed her badgering the family doctor for more medication and he usually gives in. She has also beats, badgers and torments my father until he gives in and will give her his medications (he also takes the same medications regime as my mother). To address this, I wrote a letter to the family doctor explaining my concerns and hand delivered the letter to him personally. He refused to keep the letter on file and he continued to prescribe a regime of narcotics for pain (oxycontin, morphine, dilaudid, etc…) as well as antidepressants, antianxiety medications and sleeping pills. Consequently she has been taken to the hospital several times by ambulance and by me because of over dose. There have been at least two incidents that I am aware of in the past 4 months. I have tried to inform the medical team in the ER about the issues with medication, however the physicians seem resistant to engage in a conversation about addiction. They dance all around the topic and avoid that discussion all together. It is usually down played and it is labelled as a “medication error”. I can assure you that there is no error here. She knows what she wants and is relentless to get it any way she can. My mother is going to die at the hands of the doctor and I can’t do anything because my hands are tied. From my prespective, I would welcome a doctor who is resistant to handing out medication for pain.

By: Dr. Scott Allan Lang

Dr. Scott Allan Lang — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:50:08 +0000

Dear David:
I thought your reply to ‘Pained’ was thoughtful. Medicine is inherently a hierarchal, competitive, and self-righteous culture. It is difficult for people on the front-lines to trust and respect a system and people in it who do not work hard to ‘walk-their-talk’. I hear you saying that a meaningful cultural-shift can start with each individual within the system by learning how to hold everyone accountable in a respectful manner and by leading-by-example. The problem, as I see it, is a general lack of leadership within medicine as well a general lack of effective communication skills by healthcare providers. Even if someone on the front-lines tries to communicate collaboratively it is very difficult to sustain that effort when positive responses are not garnered, patients continue to suffer, and closed-loop communication does not occur. I empathize with ‘Pained’. I assume that since she/he has articulated their concerns in the manner they have and in this format that they are a believer in good communication skills and personal leadership and are looking for ways to influence others and the profession – Go for it and good luck!

By: Debbie Fulton

Debbie Fulton — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:10:18 +0000

I as an administrator supervisor RN have found that many pain issues are not fully investigated.I received a call one eve from a recently discharged patient with a complaint. He refused to give me his name but since I cover the whole hospital asking the right questions allowed me to determine what unit he was on. He told me he was a recovering drug and alcohol abuser. he was admitted and though in pain refused pain medications for fear he would start using again. He was a post op patient. He spoke to his Sponsor who said under the circumstances he should be taking something for pain, with his Sponsor’s consent he started accepting pain medications and since he had refused earlier it was assumed by staff that he must be a drug seeker. They called the MD who discontinued all his pain medications and accused him of drug seeking. He left our hospital with angry feelings. I was able to share with him a similar experience we had with my nephew. We talked about how he might handle the situation in the future. I brought this situation back to the post op unit,after hearing all the facts they felt they would have acted differently, gathering all the facts is important.

By: Darrell King

Darrell King — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:56:23 +0000

Huge issue. I am an RN who just had an operation, and my doctors and his team are awesome about pain management. I encountered only one nurse who was resistant to delivering my med during my hospital stay, but I have encountered many clinicians during my professional duties. Communicating one’s objections is a tough hurdle to jump in this arena because it can mean standing out from the crowd, not always a good thing anywhere. My own strategy has been to gather facts first and then present them reasonably when advocating: dosing frequency, prescription and orders, vital signs, evidence of discomfort such as guarding or restless movement. Pharmaceutical pain management is not chemical recreational and it is cruel to treat it so.