In the last 4 weeks I've had a pretty good run with minimal dramas. Unfortunately this came to an end when recently given a patient last week with a review reconstruction of the ankle. Simply put, this patient has had a long standing history of falls due to either alcohol (pt has a long hx of alcohol consumption) or lax ligaments in the ankle which is probably due to the recurrent falls he has.
The post-op orders were to NWB for 3 weeks in a backslab plaster. Despite numerous prompting to the patient to not put any weight through his leg, the patient finds it humorous to do the exact opposite - e.g. when doing single limb squats on the non-operated leg, he would do them on the operated leg and begin grinning at me and say "I'm just testing you to see if you're alert", to which I replied that I did not have to be tested and he could test out his ankle to see how quick it will fail again.
The pt was scheduled to be discharged the next day after his op, however due to his non-compliance I informed the medical team of his behaviour and they've decided to keep him for longer - and I don't plan to discharge him anytime soon however he is costing the hospital too much per day and he will eventually have to be discharged. It has already been assumed that he will return with another injury. This experience is quite related to the other post about another non-compliant patient, and there is only so much we can do to prevent future injuries. As long as we document carefully in the notes and inform the medical team then I believe we have done our part.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hi Wei,
I think what you said at the end of your post is quite right, as long as you document in the notes that you have educated this pt and they have not been compliant, then you have done all you can do. These pts are frustrating but at the end of the day you did all you can do, if theyre gonna be foolish and not listen to medical staff then they'll have to deal with the consequences! These are the type of pts that you should do exactly what is expected of you and nothing more because any extra energy is just going to go to waste! I think you handled the situation well.
Post a Comment