My husband has stage 4 metastatic thyroid cancer with tumors on his spine, lungs, liver, and brain. The tumors on his spine cause him a great day of pain and require him to take pain medication daily. He was admitted to the hospital with sepsis. It was determined that the infection was coming from his gallbladder and he had surgery. After surgery, he was returned to his room in severe pain. When I asked his nurse Jacque what they were giving him for his pain, she looked it up and told me that it was the exact same medication and dosage that he takes every day!
She contacted the on-call surgeon who denied the request to increase or change his meds. I told her that was unacceptable and that I refused to watch my dear husband suffer. She made a few more phone calls while I contacted his radiation oncologist. Within the hour, Jacque had secured the authority needed to give my husband the pain meds he needed to allow him to rest comfortably. Jacque's concern and compassion coupled with her hands-onapproach to helping my husband that night were a real Godsend to us. The doctor who decided my husband could not have additional pain medications was not in the room and did not see the suffering. Jacque did see it and felt compelled to act on it but within the proper channels. She is a true asset to your hospital and nursing in general.