Understanding of the individual patient
The nurses’ understanding of the individual patient was
expressed in two different ways: the patient was viewed
as either a human being or an object. Viewing the
patient as a human being was shown by the way the
nurses considered a patient’s situation during an operation:
A 65-year-old woman is lying on the operating
table after an ostomy operation. The surgeon has left
the operating room. When removing the sterile cover,the CN [participant] notices that the ostomy is “uneven.”
She encourages the SN to contact the surgeon. The surgeon
agrees that the ostomy does not have the desired shape. He
cuts the lowest suture, pulls the bowel further up, and
places a new suture. Everyone is satisfied with the shape of
the ostomy (23).