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Bed Number Ten Reflection

Gabrielle Delos Reyes

University of Saint Mary

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The novel Bed Number Ten was a glimpse of the sad reality the nursing field

unfortunately consists. As I read through the pages about the shameless neglected care from a

nurse, all my thoughts running through my mind were disturbed from the images I naturally

imagined. From my different experiences as I Certified Nursing Assistant, I sadly encountered

similar scenes that the character Sue had to go through, and after reading this book, it gave me a

deeper perspective on how I can appropriately give care and be aware on how to adjust myself to

various situations. In the nursing program, our instructors constantly emphasize the 5 C’s of

Caring in order for us to naturally apply this to our nursing practice. It disturbs me so much to

see nurses possibly treating their patients this way, because there are thousands of other job

positions to choose from that does not involve patient interaction. As a nursing student,

providing care and learning to remember that you are the advocate of your patient under a

sensitive state of their health is the reason why I continue to stay in this field. In this paper, I will

compare and contrast the issues discusses in the book to another article I read related to

communication on an ICU patient.

The research article, Nurse and Patient Characteristics Associated with Duration of Nurse

Talking During Patient Encounters in ICU, that I read upon after reading the book was a study to

examine the association between characteristics of the nurse and patient and the duration of how

long the nurse would communicate with their patients in the ICU. Their conclusion is the

patient’s level of consciousness may deliver an influence to the duration of the communication of

the nurse towards them. When the patient has a decrease in level of conscious, the length of

communication of the nurse to their patient also decreases. There is a part in the novel that is

similar on this finding, which also proves this statement. When the doctors ordered a nurse

named Phil to insert a NG tube into Sue’s nostril, it was not pleasant experience for her. Phil did
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not speak to her and failed to explain the purpose and procedure of what he was doing to her. It

was even more sad to hear that he did not give apology for being so difficult on her body. This is

obviously because Sue could not verbally express to him that it felt like an absolute painful

nightmare (pg 55). This part of the story definitely proves the findings the authors ended with. It

is unacceptable for nurses to practice their skills in this certain way. Explaining the procedures

and saying sorry to your patient who is unconscious shows respect and care and you are treating

them like an actual human being.

Luckily, there is one part of Bed Number Ten where Sue was very amazed to a nurse’s

care towards her. This is where a nurse named, Vickie, communicated to her like Sue was able to

respond. She even took the effort to look for an air mattress to make her feel more comfortable.

During this moment, Sue had a thought about ICU being a place not appropriate for long-term

patients because the staff is not trained to take care of someone who is going to be on the floor

for a very long time period. Especially with daily hygiene, it is a challenge for nurses to

complete these task with the amount of time permitted. However, Vicki showed that these

assignments are not a challenge for her to do, and it is definitely possible for nurses to do on their

patients with incapability. The study in the research article did not mention anything about

observations on nurses spending more time talking to their patients when they performed simple

activities of daily living for them. But they mention how “Nurses should allow and prioritize

time for communication during the early stages of ICU admission and focus on methods on

communicating with patients with decreased responsiveness” (__). I believe the reason why ICU

nurses sometimes forget the importance of wiping their perineal area properly, or brushing their

patient’s teeth is because they are so used to knowing that the patient cannot complain on what is

bothering them and what has not been done. So the importance of care may decrease somewhat,
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and the focus starts to lean more to the medical mindset instead, rather than the possible

emotions of the patient. I think this is going to be very important for me to apply to my nursing

skills, and always practice to verbally communicate, no matter the situation. This will allow a

better trust system of the nurse to patient relationship.

Without a doubt, there is definitely a big difference in how communication is applied on

to patients who has the ability to communicate back, compared to someone who does seem to

hear you. In most cases, many nurses may believe it is easier to accomplish nursing skills onto a

patient who has lost conscious because obviously the nurse has all the control to do anything she

may wish, without getting interrupted by the patient. At times, it is a struggle for that thought to

come back and realize we need to treat this patient as they can hear, feel, and see everything we

are doing. This is why I think it is always beneficial to always have that mindset of putting

yourself in their shoes for 5 minutes with every patient. Even though the ICU patient is not

demanding a foot bath or a warm wash cloth for their face to be cleaned, nurses should know

giving them these things unconditionally is what giving care is suppose to be. When I finally

become a nurse, I aim for my patients to feel I truly care about their presence during my shift and

I am here for them to take good care of their mental and physical health. In conclusion, the

power is being a nurse can make a significant difference to lives of individuals despite their

situation they are in.

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References

Baier, S., & Schomaker, M. (1986). Bed number ten. New York: Holt, Reinhart, and Winston.

Nilsen, M. L., Sereika, S., & Happ, M. B. (2013). Nurse and Patient Characteristics Associated

with Duration of Nurse Talk During Patient Encounters in ICU. Heart & Lung : The

Journal of Critical Care, 42(1), 5–12. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrtlng.2012.10.003