😬 Family, Friends, and Nursing School

Being a nursing student it really becomes not only an educational job. But your family and friends make it an actual job within the healthcare field. They don't understand that you are not a nurse or doctor, you're just studying to become one. As a nursing student I get phone calls and text messages that obligate me to help in a health care situation. I'm sure we all have experienced this in one fashion or another. For example, I received a phone call from my cousin. She explained her son who is seven years old has a fever, he's extremely hot, crying, won't eat, and he is vomiting. What do I think she should do? Well, between me and you I told her to go to the ER or call the hotline because I'am not a licensed clinician to be giving medical advice. This could be the flu, stomach virus, dehydration, among other things. But little ole me can't diagnose no one, especially over no phone. I am a nursing student, I do not work in the health care field, yet. Another situation was my girlfriends grandparents, they called me to come to the house to look at some paperwork. I get there and it's her grandfather's lab results. In my head I'm thinking great here we go. He ask me to explain to him what all the test that were ran, what the values mean, and break it down into how he can understand it. Now to be honest I wanted to say "well poppop you just came from the doctor's office getting these result's. You were not able to ask him to explain what is going on?" But I ain't say that I just looked at the paperwork and started explaining what BUN, creatinine, glucose, and his cholesterol values were. Things I thought were fine for him to know and enough for him to understand and not expect anymore from me. It was a long list of lab values, I wasn't going into them all. Then he says "well my doctor says I have to work on one of those on there because it's not where he wants it to be and that's the second time it was in that range. So just tell me am I going to die?" I looked at my girlfriend and in my head I'm thinking, is he going to die now what type of question is that and why would he ask me that and not that doctor. I was so lost I literally drew a blank. I really think they be testing me for real, because this can't be real. I kindly said the politically correct answer as a granddaughter "why would you think you were dying? Where is any of these test indicating death?" Come to find out he don't trust the doctors, he think they won't tell the truth about what's really happening, until a person is almost dead. And because I grew up in the family with my girlfriend he trust me to be honest. I was so stuck and flabbergasted, I said "I appreciate the trust you have for me but you need to consult and follow up with your provider, they are trained and skilled in their profession." I explain to anyone who calls, text, ask me anything about their health conditions. "I am a nursing student, not a nurse or doctor, I'am not clinically trained to advise you of anything. So please contact the nearest hospital, ER, providers office, urgent care, or hotline for all your health care needs. Thank you." Some things are just above my pay grade and I don't want to be the one giving advice when other factors are prevalent that I may not know about. I'm helping save them and me from any danger, by directing them to the clinically trained. Signed your future nurse. 💞