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She had mental health issues and her family felt angry with her. It didn’t help that those she sought help from treated her in a similar fashion, they felt she was a hypochondriac. Over time many people treated her like a nuisance, not a human being with serious needs.
When I worked in Health Care Susan was a frequent patient, always very quiet and seemed naively kind.
Susan suffered from Major Depression and also had health issues, when I met Susan I was a Nurse’s Aide. Susan would end up on the floor I was a regular on almost monthly. I had no idea she suffered from Major Depression because Nurse’s Aides didn’t attend Nursing Report. Each shift the nurses would meet for approximately 15–30 minutes and get a report on each of their patients. The report consisted of the patient’s diagnosis, the medications they were being given, treatment plans and more. A Nurse’s Aide would get a patient list and we had a schedule of our own to follow with each patient during our shift. You got to know a bit or more about your patients through the patient themselves or the Nurse you were working under would share bits and pieces. We were aware of vital information, for instance, if a patient had surgery, diabetes, respiratory problems… we were told what to watch for.
Every time Susan was admitted she had a new diagnosis and her diagnoses were mainly “pain…
