A nurse felt sick to her stomach after googling a patient and discovering disturbing information about their past.
A nurse recently shared a shocking experience that left her feeling extremely unsettled.
The nurse, who had been working with a patient, decided to look up the individual online.
What she discovered left her feeling sick to her stomach.
This shows how unexpected and unsettling information can come from a simple internet search.
Nurse experiences sick-to-stomach feeling after googling a patient
This nurse, named Hadley, recounted how curiosity got the best of her and she decided to look up her patient’s information.
Hadley was assigned to care for a patient under the compassionate release program.
This program allows terminally ill inmates to leave prison and spend their final days with loved ones.
While sitting in her car outside the patient’s home, she became curious and decided to Google the patient’s name.
“I Googled my patient and felt sick to my stomach.
I read this article about how he kidnapped someone and tortured them until they died,” she said.
At that moment, she understood her job was to help the patient have a peaceful passing surrounded by loved ones.
She also realized that, despite this, the patient had caused someone else to spend their last moments alone and in horror.
Hadley tried to push it out of her mind, but she struggled.
She started becoming irritated with minor tasks.
“Instead of hanging out at his home, I would go to my car, I was doing the bare minimum,” she said.
“Although I still think I hid my feelings well, I felt terrible on the inside.
I felt like I was disrespecting the victim whenever I was doing my job and my patient was pain-free and comfortable.”
Hadley recounted that she eventually sought therapy and realized she couldn’t change her patient’s past actions.
However, she focused on ensuring she “was nothing like him” and said, “I can make sure that people do have a peaceful passing.”
Social media reactions
On social media, many people shared their opinions about the nurse’s revelation.
Some expressed sympathy for her difficult situation, while others debated whether she should have known the patient’s past.
Many praised her for continuing to provide compassionate care despite her feelings.
A nurse’s job is to heal and not to judge.
As difficult as it may sound that might have been an only act of compassion this dying person might have received, one user said.
I doesn’t matter who they are and what they did, care for everyone equally, the second user commented.
Its not so much as caring for a patient with a dark history as it is preserving the integrity of a profession.
People need to trust that the hospice industry can provide them that quality end-of-life care when the times comes.
No matter what one’s past is and without judgment, the third user said.
I always google my patients, especially those from prison, just so I know what I’m getting myself into but regardless of what they’ve done they receive the same care, another wrote.