“Belinda had a seizure,” according to her husband, Ron. He heard a loud noise and ran to check on her. She appeared to be convulsing – Ron immediately called 911. When EMS arrived, Belinda was awake, and claiming that she just passed out from the stomach flu.
While treating Belinda in the emergency room, the physician felt trapped in the middle of “he said, she said.” Belinda had never previously had a seizure so this required more investigation. The paramedics recorded normal blood sugar and blood pressure at the scene. She had a lump and small cut on her head. Belinda had used illicit drugs in the past, but had been clean for two years.
As a caregiver, Ron felt strangely at odds with his wife. He wanted to protect her privacy while being certain the doctor had all pertinent information. How Ron handled this situation could be crucial to Belinda’s diagnosis and well-being. Without preparation, he might simply forget information or sway the doctor’s impression.
Consider these five tips to avoid common mistakes made by caregivers during emergencies:
Expect Common Things to be Common
Chances are you’ve heard of many medical conditions. You may not be familiar with people who have seizures, but it’s a common diagnosis. Common experiences provide immediate reassurance in emergency settings. The medical staff can manage seizures, which allows caregivers to worry less.
Caregivers often become hung up on certain words or diagnoses that often trigger undue stress and confusion. As a caregiver, you need to decide upfront if you intend to make the situation better or worse. The sooner you can put your mind at ease, the more you can work with the physician in being certain of the diagnosis.
Don’t Jump to Conclusions
Just because someone suggests a diagnosis doesn’t mean it’s certain. Both physicians and family caregivers need to keep an open mind when new medical conditions arise. Keeping an open mind until the evaluation is complete serves your patient’s best interest. If Belinda had a history of seizures, her having another seizure would not be unexpected.
Trying to keep an open mind while forgetting that you know anything is hard for caregivers who might be used to micromanaging their patients’ care. Knowing your patient, you have credibility in expressing when something is wrong. Are you able to hold back from expressing your opinion until the physician formulates his or hers? Your expectations might trigger the physician to treat your patients without having all the necessary facts.
Be Able to Tell Your Patient’s Story
Your patient has his or her side of the story while you have yours. As the caregiver, make sure you correct any misstatements and avoid speaking for your patient. Your patient might ramble, but it’s important for you not to confuse the physician. While listening, your goal is to be able to put the story in a nutshell. It helps to be concise by following these three steps:
- Start from the beginning
Every story has a beginning, middle and end. You need to start from the beginning and include the five W’s – the who, what, where, when, why. Who was there, what happened, where did it occur, when did it begin, and why did it occur? Relay the story without creating the ending.
- State just the facts
By nature, caregivers are sometimes more emotional than patients. Patients tend to be stunned in the ER and often unsure why they are there. As a caregiver, you often know more about your patient than he or she realizes. The physician is more concerned about the present illness, current medications and pertinent past history. The more you stick to the facts, the better the physician will be at reaching the correct diagnosis.
- Any additional information
You might have a hunch about what’s going on with your patient. Clearly, Ron was concerned that Belinda might be doing drugs again, but he was quick to praise her recovery. He demonstrated a knack for winning friends and influencing the physician, while sharing additional information.
Give Physicians the Benefit of the Doubt
Caregivers are naturally concerned about whether that the physician actually knows what he or she is doing. If you have questions . . . ask, don’t guess. Most physicians will listen to the story and might even repeat it to make sure of having heard it correctly. The physician will typically outline the course of investigation and may relay his or her working diagnosis.
Some caregivers tend to create a list of medical concerns along with tests that they think need to be ordered. These tests may or may not be relevant to the situation at hand. You may be inclined to have everything checked out and in the process, overwhelm the ER physician. You need preparation and presence of mind to not expect all your questions to be answered during an emergency visit – some doubts will likely remain.
Reach a Conclusion
Caregivers often leave the emergency department with more questions than answers – sometimes stating, “The doctor never told me anything.” In translation, this often means the physician and the caregiver never came to an understanding or agreement. You may not have a definitive diagnosis, but you still need to reach a conclusion about management and follow-up.
A CT scan of Belinda’s head and lab studies were determined to be normal. Did she have a true seizure or a jerking spell from hitting her head or passing out? The physician may not be too concerned about Belinda having a life-threatening situation. Nevertheless, has the caregiver drawn the same conclusion? What questions or disagreements remain? Like most mysteries and many emergencies, some situations are difficult to explain. Is this okay?
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While caregiving, the goal of emergency preparedness is to be OK with any given situation. You will not achieve this until you condition yourself to believe it. This might be easier said than done, but many caregivers make the impossible becomes possible. The more confident you are, the more comfort you give others. Emergency situations call you to rise to the occasion and become more powerful than you ever imagined. The adage “What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger” is the take- home message that can prepare you for an emergency.
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