Operation patienceSpending three days on a hospital ward meant that Teresa Davies saw life from a patient's perspective

摘要

I underwent a minor operation recently and spent three days in hospital. As a third-year nursing student, I had assumed I would be comfortable in the hospital environment and that my stay on the ward would not be too traumatic.Being a patient, though, is a world apart from life as a nurse, qualified or not. The hospital suddenly became a different and frightening place.Ifoundmyselfsittingonmy bed at 6pm wondering whether I should be wearing my pyjamas like the other patients in my bay. Gradually all rational thinking slipped away as I began to conform to the patient role.My biggest aim was to ensure thatlwas not a nuisance, knowing first hand how busy a surgicalward can be. But after my operation I took this to the extreme when I decided I would wait for the next drug round, rather than ring the bell for pain relief.