“So You’re A Mental Health Nurse?Exactly Why Are You Seeing Me Today Then?”
‘Physician heal thyself’ is alive & kicking right now.
I imagine that there are many of you out there who have heard this phrase ‘physician heal thyself’ over the years that have passed by?
It originates from a religious text from the biblical times quoted within ‘Luke 4:23.’
…where it alludes to the willingness of a person eager to help and care for others, but at the same time, either not wanting or actually not being able to do the same for themselves.
I have no further intention within this article of draining you of energy and enthusiasm, by dragging up quote after quote. But I feel that I needed to emphasize this phrase, simply as a way to explain the potential for this phrase to be misused in today's world.
As most of my readers will know by now, I have worked for a considerable number of years in the specialized area of mental health nursing, both within the National Health Service and in the private sector… incorporating child & adolescent care, adult care, dementia care, and in care of the dying. For many, you will be aware that this will have achieved & attracted copious amounts of knowledge, self-appreciative, and self-care ability.
Well, you will be correct in one sense of the word, but equally wrong in another sense. Having the qualification ‘nurse,’ does not mean you are invincible my any means!
Super Nurse is not the modern day Superman or Superwoman reincarnated…
Admittedly we are very good at the jobs that we do. Caring and treating those vulnerable in our care, comes as much to us as ‘the autonomic function of breathing does to us all,’ where we don’t actively think about it, the human body simply carry's on without us needing to… that's where the similarity of nursing comes from.
But the similarity stops there…
Take note healthcare facilities (Family General Practitioners (GP) particularly too.)
So, sit up and start listening!
Nursing staff are still humans.
Whereas our ability to care allows us to care holistically for those that need our help, this is only due to the provision of the three to four years of training we initially received from the outset, and then we continue through our qualified years carrying out our jobs, but remain glued to the regimes of ongoing training & continuous professional development for as long as we remain nurses.
I am putting this article ‘out there’ so to speak, purely because, over the years as a registered nurse and having the need to see my GP for ongoing physical care issues, my GP has asked each time I have gone to him for a consultation over prescribed medication or breakthrough pain.
When anybody needs to make a GP appointment with their family surgery, of course the first person that you have to get through is the ‘border patrol.’
Yes sadly and truthfully, this patrol is your ‘friendly neighbourhood know-it-all,’ oops sorry, I meant to say the receptionist of course…
But of course, this scenario happens to be based upon the sad truth within todays society.
When you do finally get through to this person (after having been subjected to a half hour hold on your phone) you just want to make that all important request to see your GP. But the receptionist has other ideas.
Of course, before the receptionist will even book you an appointment to see the GP, you first have to comply with the ridiculous barrage of questions such as,
- what is the matter?
- do you really need to see the GP?
First and foremost,
How on earth do you know what is wrong with you, this is why you need to see the GP is it not?
And secondly,
Well, how do you know if you really need to see your GP if you don’t know what is wrong in the first place (surely that’s again why you need to see the GP?)
Unless you are mentally prepared these, ‘border patrol,’ these staff can be stressful and annoying to say the least.
Here I just want to shout out: nurses do 3–4 years of training to do their jobs. GP’s do a minimum of 7-years.
So I want to ask, why do GP receptionists think they know more than GP’s or nurses?
And this is where it gets difficult
I have my own way of dealing with the ‘border patrol’ scenario. Yes, I use my 30 years of nursing knowledge and training to get through these two ridiculous questions but, once you have then secured your appointment with your GP, you then end up with another onslaught from the GP too. This is my experience on this area but, I am pretty certain that the ‘border patrol’ then has a word or two in the ear of the GP saying ‘ok he is a know-it-all nurse.’
Except without having the knowledge and confidence to plough through the receptionists questions, getting an appointment would be more tricky to achieve. So when I finally do get to see my GP, I get hit again with the overriding question,
- what can I do to help you?
- what medications would you think will work?
- what do you need me to do for you?
Here we go again, back on the carousel.
Just because I have been a nurse for so long, does not mean that I can diagnose & treat myself with everything. I have said this to my own family GP for so long.
He kept saying to me ‘you are a nurse, you should know this!’
Over the years I have made official complaints over these problems because, this must change. Perhaps reading this you may not have come across this yourself, or then maybe you have, and this story resonates with you?
Either way, I would really like to hear your scenarios you have endured with your own GP, and the surgery ‘border patrol..?’
If you have read this as an unpaid member of Medium then, why not come and join me and many, many more members, read & write to your hearts content. Enjoy the camaraderie of all that this great community has to offer you:
Hey, it’s only $5!! (or £3.68 UK sterling.)😊
Hey, why not subscribe to my emails too, so you can see when I’ve next published. It might even cheer up your lonely inbox😳.