I believe that the most potent barrier that is separating nurses from their patients today is the ferocious documentation mandates that nurses are required to perform. The hospital corridors are clogged with nurses hovering over computers entering all kinds of data, most of which will never be viewed by physicians. These nurses are not techies who want to be palpating a keyboard. They are compassionate caregivers who want to be in their patients' rooms caring for them.
If you suspect that I am exaggerating here, then go ask a nurse.
Moreover, the hospital's electronic medical record system has become deeply layered and complex. Often I can't find the specific data I need. Just last week, a couple of senior nurses and I were scouring through the computer to find a patient's result of stool testing for blood. We simply couldn't find it, and these nurses are pros. At that point we were left with the following options:
• Reorder the test;
• Make up the result;
• Quit the profession and become an Uber driver;
• Ask the patient what the result was; or
• Hire a 12-year-old who could find the results in a few seconds.
While the computer record is packed with data concerning every aspect of the patient's medical experience, I have my own approach to find out what's going on. Pay close attention here. Read the next sentence very slowly as I want readers to grasp the complex process I use each day as I approach the nurse.
“Hi. What's going on with my patient?”