When last I wrote I spoke of doing some training in male catheterisation.

Now for the lucky ones who have no idea what this is (you are lucky believe me – I wish I had never heard of this myself!) let me explain. This is where you put a tube into a guy’s bladder via the urethra to drain the urine – it’s done for many reasons including retention, post surgery and the like! It’s only done through one way however!

So what do people do once they have trained? That’s right - go to the top of the class! They practice. Yay for me!

So this happens basically when I least expected it. I had to perform my ‘new skill’. This came as a bit of a shock because the ward was in the middle of a full cardiac and respiratory arrest at the time and to be honest there were about 10 docs and about twice as many nurses so really there was no need for me. At about 11 am the guy in-charge comes up to me and informs me that there is a male patient (who is not even my patient) who needs catheterising and I was the only one available. This is how the conversation went:

Me: I don’t know how to catheterise. I am needed for this arrest.
Senior Nurse: We have enough people AD. The man is in pain. Get on with it.
Me: I really think I can help in this arrest!
Senior Nurse: We have enough people AD. Get on with it– why did you do the training if you didn’t want to do the procedure.
Me: I am sorry but I don’t think I would be comfortable doing the procedure!
Senior Nurse: Who cares! It’s for the patient comfort not YOURS! Get to it NOW!!!
Me: Ok! Yes Sir!!

Me – looking miserable – walk off and start to collect my equipment ever sooooooo ssssssssssllllllllooooooooooowwwwwwlllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyy! I finally get to the man and all the way there I am saying to myself ‘it’s ok. It’s ok. It’s ok’ over and over basically.

Anyways I get to the guy and he is in agony - I mean he is sat there trying to make it look like it doesn’t hurt at all but you can just tell! He can hardly move and he looks so sad! Here I am making all this fuss and been a selfish so and so when he looks so pitiful.
I have just spent the last half hour writing this and all to just let you know what I learned.

Hold on while I collect myself!

It’s this: We are always so concerned with ourselves that we don’t look hard enough to see the need of others. We are so blinded that it takes an explosion (or in my case the very well concealed tears of an 80 year old man) to wake us up and make us take action.

My plan is simple: stop been so easily embarrassed and think of the greater good. After all the first hadith is ‘everything is but by intention’ so I am going to try and live by that and stop worrying so much

Peace people till next time.