All that for an upset tummy....

At the weekend I had the pleasure of volunteering and being a member of the nursing team. (Obviously I was out practicing as a student under the supervision of a suitably qualified mentor). This role took me up and down the Southbank several times in order to re-assess patients.

Now, don't get me wrong I love what I do but I dislike being called upon by a member of staff who is equally if not more qualified to assess patients than I am. By this I mean, ambulance crews who are trained to perform certain examinations in order to build a list of potential diagnosis in order to rule each out as the examination goes on.

For example, on Sunday I was based outside of City Hall and with an area to cover that would take me on a 2 mile round trip without a vehicle I was somewhat reluctant to answer minor calls which could be covered by ambulance crews. After all, Nurses do not operate pre-hospitaly so the demand for one would be unnecessary if there were an alternative, say an ambulance crew, near by.

On this particular occasion the call was for a 27 year old female with upper abdominal pain. What would your first impressions be? Mine consisted of, ectopic pregnancy, GI Bleed, numerous Gastric problems, trauma etc etc. The list is endless. Include the fact that that was all the details I had for this patient. Upon arrival, after a mile of brisk walking through dense crowds, I find the young lady laying supine on a stretcher. My initial thought is that she doesn't look unwell, which is usually a good sign!

Her obs were stable and there was nothing significant in the menstrual history to suggest to me that she could be pregnant, no PV/PR bleed and the rest of the physical assessment didn't flag up anything significant. Abdomen was soft and non-tender. So there I was with a young lady with abdominal pain who seemed to be quite anxious but none the less, quite well.

'When did you last eat?'

In a strong Spanish accent.. 'About an two hours ago, some paella'

'Do you know what was in the food?'

'Sea food'

BINGO!

I had just discovered that this lady had a minor case of the poops. Do you think I was pleased about this? No. I certainly was not.

Although, not to discourage you from asking for help if you ever need a second opinion, it is always best to be safe than sorry in these kinds of circumstances. Just don't boast to me all day about being one of 'the' best ambulance crews and then flap over a minor case of the poops!