In: Nursing
A 67-year-old man with emphysema who has had to come to radiol-ogy for a chest x-ray is angry. He says he just had a chest x-ray done last week at another doctor's office and your office should have the films by now. "Clearly, all of you here are incompetent," he tells you in a nasty voice. He's angry because of the inconvenience to his life. He also says that you and the people you work with don't care how much radiation he's exposed to through the process. All of these x-rays will give him lung cancer if he doesn't get it from 30 years of smoking. Briefly explain the appropriate way to manage this angry patient.
2. A 17-year-old boy has arrived for a follow-up appointment with
the urologist in your practice. The boy is here to receive the
results of tests he has undergone to rule out testicular cancer.
The boy is clearly ridden with anxiety and unable to interact with
anyone in the practice without bursting into tears. Briefly explain
the appro-priate way to manage this anxious patient.
1. Emphysema is a condition in which air accumulated in lungs. In this case the alveoli get damaged. The staff should explain that the condition become severe day by day if not treated properly. So frequent imaging of lungs is necessary. The recent situation of the lungs can be identified by repeating x rays. Also radiation from x rays doesn't cause lung cancer. So don't worry about it. If the patient wants proper treatment be ready for a repeat x rays.
2. The young one who is waiting for the result of tests to rule out testicular cancer would be very anxious. So the staff should provide support to ease out his worries. Nurse should convince the boy that not all the symptoms might cause cancer. Also if the result will be positive, this is not a fatal one. There are many advanced treatment modalities are available to treat. So complete cure is possible. The earliest the diagnosis made, the faster the cure.