The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-07-16
CHAPTER TX

CHAPTER TX
 Several evenings before, Tran had spent hours writing up nursing care report "The Nursing Care report" her student text said, was significant "as showing the nurses ability to recognize and to analyze intellieently and symathetically the many nursing problems, psycholog- ical as well as physical, that are presented by any one patient"
 Miss Armstrong had charge of this work. But to give added zest to 1t, the students papers were occasionally read and commented upon by some of the members of the medical staff.
 This was a particularly ticklish assignment because, this time, the commentator was to be the ter rible pr. Stephen Sargent. The thought of those eyes of his at once icy and angry-passing judg- ment upon her work, made Trans hands turn cold as she wrote. The anticipation of his caustic com- ments chilled her blood espe- cialIy as the case of which she wrote was one of his own, to which she had been assigned to help Miss Miller.
 Miss Miller had been unusually helpful. Indeed, Tran had lately been surprised to find that Miss Miller, once she was convinced that you were in earnest, could be amazingly human and kind. There were times when Tran wondered, with understanding beyond her years, if the whole trouble about Miss Miller could not be that all her life she had had to fight devastating shyness.
 When Tran had finished, she was tired. So tired that she felt she was entitled to little innocent relaxation.
 A delightful idea was beginning to take shape in her too fertile brain. She tapped her nose with her pen, giggled, drew papers towards her, and began to write feverishly:
 Patient: x.
 Doctor: She considered for a moment; then wrote with four ish: Benchley.
 Head nurse: Tranquility Dear born.
 Diagnosis: None.
 Note: Although my patient was admitted to this hospital 10 years ago and has been con- stantly under observation, no comprehensive diagnosis to cov- CT all his amazing symptoms has yet been arrived at.
 However, as Dr. Osler has said, Tt is sometimes more im- pMtant to know what sort of patient has the disease than what sort of disease the patient has"
 Color: White.
 : Sex: Male.
 Age: Just right to be interesting Family: If married, he makes no boast of 1t.
 Religion: From certain fervent expressions have heard the pa kient use in moments of excite ment, the most charitable conclu- sion Is that he is deeply religious. It is important that a nurse should state exactly what she ob- serves neither more nor less Nursing Text, D. l20)
 Profession: Surgeon.
 Income: AS to his income, I can only report that, in delirium, I have heard him refer to his in- ! come tax as highway robbery" A good nurse does not inject personal interpretations into a bedside record. (N T., p. 125.)
 Intelligence: His intelligence and professional skill are reported to be of high order. His operating technique is said to be so exacting that young nurses have been known to faint when informed that they were to assist him, and to run temperatures after helping at one of his operations.
 < Emotional Reactions: His emo- kional reactions are 50 varied and unusual as to afford an instruc- tive study Our text asserts that . patient should be an inter eSting study to an alert nurse. The nurse who failed to find x inter- esting would be phlegmatic, in deed.
 Personal Description: x is a tall, spare, blond man of the sanguine type which always looks as if it had just scrubbed its face. neck, and ears with brush and green soap, and rinsed with ice water. His eyebrows are arrogant; his nose Is one of the lofty kind which seem especially designed for snort ing His eyes, which are very blue, habitually wear what can only be described as a "be-damncd-to- you" expression.
 Manifestation of Symptoms x is obviously man who is accus- toned to having his own way. An illustration of this observation fol- lows:
 Since our text instructs us that charts and reports bearing upon the patients condition should be kept from his eyes, the nurse observed the usual procedure, when Ks tenn perature was taken, of retiring to a distant light to read the thermom- eter. Each time this happened, how ever, the patient fell into so danger
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