Comments on: Let’s Pre-Round!

By: Doc Gurley

Doc Gurley — Sun, 18 May 2008 17:36:54 +0000

Absolutely no disrespect intended! In the large urban teaching hospitals where I work, nurses do all you say and more – and I am one of nursing’s biggest fans. If a patient has taken a turn for the worse, it is more often than not the (exhausted? incompetent? too harried to respond?) cross-covering intern who has failed to appropriately react to numerous nurses’ pages. There is nothing worse than the sinking feeling of having a nurse say about your patient, “thank God you’re here.” But the sad fact in California is that nurses are being asked/forced to assume more and more WIDE-ranging responsibilities (including housekeeping) for more and more and MORE patients. The point of the post is to discuss pre-rounds and why people should do it. In my opinion, it is the (mutually respectful, happily working together) team approach that benefits everyone – especially patients. Checking and re-checking the patient, and leaving the ego at the door are key parts of the process. Thank you for all you do!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:55:47 +0000

I am a new reader who appreciates your no-nonsense approach to medicine and admires your passion in serving the underserved. However, as a nurse I am insulted by your treatment of nurses in this post. Although I hope this doesn’t represent your attitude toward nurses in general, since you ARE a victim of medical school education I fear it is. You completely discount the one member of the health care team who knows the patient more intimately than any med student or resident could ever hope to – the bedside nurse. How can you say that a patient’s worsening condition will be missed unless a resident is there to assess early in the morning? As a nurse in a major midwestern teaching hospital, I can tell you the experienced nurses are teaching the residents most of what they learn on the floors. Nurses routinely cover errors, pull up the slack and take much grief created by resident care. We don’t mind, because we want to mentor our future physicians, and we know this is what is best for our patients. Please don’t disrespect nurses in this way!