Assignment Task:
You are a nurse working in an ambulatory outpatient surgical clinic of a large city hospital. The vascular surgery clinic is being held, and 25 patients are scheduled to be seen today. The vascular clinic starts at 8:30 a.m., and then the neurosurgery clinic will be held in the same area. There are three nurses (you, Helen the charge nurse, and Ted), two physicians (Howard Smith and Grace Meyer), and one aide (Harriet) managing the clinic.
Helen, the charge nurse, says at the beginning of the shift, "Now we really need to get done on time today. We have an in-service with Dr. Stan Brown who is going to talk with us about new surgical techniques. You all know how great of a speaker Stan is. We will order lunch to be delivered in the conference room at noon."
The clinic starts, and you, the other nurses, and the aide bring the patients to the rooms, do initial assessments, and follow with discharge teaching instructions as the patients finish with the doctors. You notice that Helen is quick to work with patients who are easy to bring into the room, clean, and well dressed. Because of their vascular problems, many patients come to the clinic in wheelchairs, but Helen usually avoids these patients.
Between patients, while some nurses have a quiet moment, you hear Helen complaining to Ted that she does not understand why some of these patients miss their appointments and do not come for 2 to 3 weeks. "By then their dressings are filthy. Don't they know they are making the ulcers worse? They just don't care, I guess."
At 11:45 a.m., Helen says, "Okay, let's get finished up as soon as we can. Both doctors are on their last patients. Who wants to set up the conference room? We have to get finished with lunch by 13:00 because we have a huge neurosurgery clinical this afternoon."
Q1. How do Helen's values regarding time, patient compliance, and patients' socioeconomic status influence her nursing care?
Q2. Identify your own beliefs, opinions, and biases about working with clients with different socioeconomic statuses.
Q3. Describe how your own personal beliefs about socioeconomic status influence your nursing care.
Q4. What is the most professional way to react to this situation?
Q5. What, if anything would you say to Helen?