Arrogance Could Kill Your Patient

The truth is almost no one is ever going to admit to being arrogant. In fact, most nurses would deny, if accused. But, I heard a story this morning that reminded me that nearly all of us have the capacity for arrogance, and it could be harmful to our patients… or worse.

The story was told by a man who had undergone back surgery. He spoke of the significant pain he was in and his inability to move by himself, due to the pain. He talked of how, at some point, two men came to assist him. He said that together they used the sheet to turn him over to his side as one unit. I could almost hear the relief in his voice as he talked of how good it felt to lay in a different position. 

Sometime later, during this same hospital visit, a nurse came in to check on him and he asked if he could, again, be turned onto his side. The nurse told him that it was no problem and began to put herself in position to roll the patient over. Under many circumstances, this is something that can be done with one person, especially if the patient is not particularly large, as this man is not. The man spoke up and told the nurse that she couldn’t do it alone, that it had taken two men to do it the previous time.

This is where the arrogance comes in.

The nurse responded that she was a trained professional and was completely capable of doing this on her own. She proceeded to slide her hands under the patient while he let out a scream of pain. The nurse stepped back and exclaimed, “you’ve had back surgery”. The man confirmed her assessment.

How is this arrogance?

Many would say that this nurse just made an innocent, honest mistake. On some levels this is true. However, it is the thought process that leads up to this mistake where the arrogance comes in. You see, when the patient said that the previous time that he had been turned it took two men, the nurse ignored him and proceeded to attempt to move the patient alone.

In that moment, she believed herself to be more knowledgeable and more capable than the two staff members that had previously moved the patient. Without even thinking she dismissed the patient’s words of caution and went about trying to do her own thing. While she likely would never admit it, it was arrogance that led her to take this course of action.

Pride goes before a fall.

This story is likely one of a great nurse who simply didn’t have all the information she needed. But, when the patient told her that it had previously taken two staff members to turn him, she should have taken a moment to pause and consider why it had taken two staff to do what she now thought she could do by herself. Had she done this, she would have realized that she did not have all the information she needed. This could have led her to review the patient’s chart and discover that he had back surgery and that she should really have two staff to turn him.

Pause is good.

In nursing, there are certain things that have to be done NOW. There are moments when taking action, or not, is truly a matter of life and death. Take too long to make a decision and something bad might happen. However, the truth is that the vast majority of the time this is not the case. In most cases, the task you need to perform can be delayed a short time without anything bad happening. 

For this reason, if you see, hear, or just feel that something isn’t right, pause. Take a moment to think about what you are seeing, hearing, or feeling. Make sure you have all the information you need. The minute or two it takes you to do this or to get the information you don’t have will cause no significant delay in care but could save the patient from a lot of pain, or something much, much worse.