Today I spent the morning in the Peri-Operative Surgery Center volunteering from 7:15-10:30 AM. I’ve only had three volunteer shifts so far in this unit but I feel like I am finally starting to learn my way around. As the peri-operative family escort, it is my responsibility to lead the patient’s family from the operating room back to the patient’s room or out to the family waiting area, which has proven to be a surprisingly tricky task while still learning the layout of a 50 room unit oneself without signs or a map for guidance!
Nevertheless, I have so far enjoyed working in the unit and think I will try to volunteer in the early mornings more often, as this seems to be the time when the greatest volume of surgeries are scheduled and there are more ways to be of assistance. This morning was particularly busy and the surgeons seemed to have operations scheduled back-to-back for hours on end. Sometimes the Volunteer Office will schedule to have two peri-operative escorts working on busier shifts but today I was on my own. All of the surgeons, anesthesiologist, and nursing staff were working with rapid efficiency to stay on schedule so I had to make sure I brought my A game.
At around 10:05 AM, I was walking to OR 8 to meet the family of a little boy who was undergoing a cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) caused by a recent viral infection. On my way to the operating room I began to map out in my head the quickest route through which to bring this patient’s family from OR 8 back to their pre-operative room and then out to the family waiting area so that I had enough time to make it back to OR 3 to meet the family of the 10:10 AM surgery. My mind was still contemplating the best of two alternative ways when I stepped into OR 8 to see the patient’s mother and father saying goodbye to the patient. They caught my attention right away, as they seemed quite distraught, more so than most of the parents that I had met so far while volunteering in the surgery center.
The patient’s parents finished up their goodbyes and as I led them out of the operating room the mom began crying while the dad was doing his best to hold back tears. I introduced myself and told them where I would be taking them to wait for their child’s surgery to be completed. When I asked if they had any questions regarding the plan or procedure, the mother burst into tears a second time. I apologized, grabbed her a box of tissues, and began to offer some support before the father said to me, “I’m sorry, we have had quite a year. This is the third time in the last six months that we have had to say goodbye to one of our children on their way into surgery”. As a volunteer, we are instructed to solely offer emotional support to patients and their family without prying or attempting to act as therapists. With this in mind, I offered them my condolences for their situation.
As they continued explaining their numerous hospital visits from the last 6 months, I couldn’t help but notice that I only had a couple of minutes remaining to get back to OR 3 to meet the next family. But I just couldn’t bring myself to interrupt the boy’s parents. They seemed exhausted and genuinely relieved to have someone to confide in. I quickly waved over the nurse nearby and asked her to call OR 3 to let them know that I would not be there to walk the next family back. She quickly understood the situation and dialed the OR and I returned to my conversation with the patient’s parents.
This situation still serves as an example to me of the importance listening to patients and their family members. In hindsight, this example reminds me of the article “The Importance of Sitting With Patients” by Dr. Dhruv Kullar. In this editorial, he re-tells the story of a patient and his own hesitancy when she had asked him to sit and talk for a few minutes during a busy shift, as well as his guilt when he later found out that patient had died later that evening. The relationship formed with patients and their loved ones is one of critical importance that simply cannot be undermined in exchange for something as meager as efficiency.
Comments
Post a Comment