[lisalau]

I have a story...
(you will get used to these..sorry)
when i was first admitted in to High Dependancy with Isolation, i had the warmest, compitant nurse i have ever had the pleasure to be cared for by.
Trying to be a model patient, When the sheets were dropped in, she would arrive to find the bed made. Then tubes in the way or not, i would shower myself. This exhausted me so much, i would sleep for 4 hrs but i did it because i needed to move, i had no idea how long i would be in there and it ended up being 8 weeks. She, in turn, would check on me and had learnt to judge by my positions when i was in pain...she never asked, just delivered the pain relief and i trusted her to keep me comfortable. I liked this more than PCA and though we used it when others were on shift, she would remove when it was hers. She brought me music and cried with me when they wouldnt let my children in (my enlarged parotids indicated possibly mumps though it didnt make any sense with blood works etc) She taught me that as morphine wears off, a small amount of a lighter narcotic like codeine can make the relief last longer and many skills i still employ in my managment today.
One day while she was on evening shift, i was taken for an mri and my sheets were changed while i was away. When i returned my temp was 43 and i had the sensation that there was glass in my bed. Ridiculous as this seemed, i dd not have the strength to look for myself and so i called my dutynurse who coldly told me she was busy and didnt have time for my febrile hellucinations. I tried to stay as still as possible with rigours but by the time my nurse came on duty, i was crying and told her i was sorry but could she put my mind at ease and check if there is glass. My legs were shredded by a few large glass pieced (looked like from a broken drinking glass) when my nurse called the nurse who refused to look earlier, she picked up the glass pieces and said, arnt i the lucky one...diamonds in my bed!
(afterwards i wondered if she perhaps had a relationship with my X...he wasnt the most faithfull of men and to see him at my bed during every break on the list may have irritated her, i dont know, just a thought)
When i was to be transferred to another hospital by taxi, carrying all my bags, she got special permission to drive me herself and stayed and made me comfortable, informing the nurses on duty, i was special (bless her)
I had been in that ward before and my X (very well known at ths teaching hospital) had visited me and we were overheard discussing my diagnosis. My lovely nurse was hurt i had not told her i was a nurse. I didnt mean, not to, it just never came up and i was pretty groggy most of the time.
I guess every time, i need to guage the relationship i build with those caring for me. With this lovely woman, it was a friendship and just as i shared other things, i ought to have shared this. I am very sorry i hurt her by my ommission. I sent her flowers and home baked cakes and music she loved in gratitude a few months later when i was finally home but i never got to see her again.
I honour the memory of her...one of our finest.

[lisalau]

During this same time, my urethral spasms were driving me CRAZY with a catheter in place. I remember begging for it to be removed. I dont know how, but fully inflated, i pulled it out. This caused much snickering behind my door but it stopped when my nurse came by. Kindly, she brought me some ligncaine and did what she could to settle the spasms and the damage i had created. I know it seems very unlikely, but i have no memory of doing this, had i been rational, i would have deflated prior to extraction. Noone believed i didnt do it on purpose (I had complained enough) and i still blush when i think about it and still remember her kindness

[JessicRN]

Originally Posted by madwife2002

No I rarely tell hospital staff that I am an RN, but most do pick up on it beacuse of the amount of knowledge I have.

That is the same with me I try not to tell someone but I do not deny it if they ask. I had a situation where I spent 5 days in the ICU and then had to have surgery the surgeon was called in and gave me the most wonderful explanation of my up and coming surgery I have ever heard. He left then came back 20 minutes later and said " your an RN and you made me go through all that" I told him yes I was but had I told him I was I would not have gotten any explanation.
Nurses treat you differently and sometimes negatively, they think you are judging them all the time and lets face it we do anyway. Why make them more nervous.

[SmilingBluEyes]

No, I want to see how "all people" are treated. I don't want special or preferential tx---or to be avoided because I am known to be a nurse. I tend to keep this to myself.

[Marie_LPN, RN]

Originally Posted by chocolateboi

I was told by a very wise brillant and expierenced nurse that only the worse nurses tell their title. Also that the worse nurses make even worser patients.

That's a pretty unfair judgment for her to assume.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Conversely, I get *HIGHLY* annoyed when I receive in report, "Mary Jones is a doctor/nurse" etc. I don't want to know. They are not going to get "better" care from me----it just distracts me, hearing this. I give good care to all my patients, not just those "in the know"......

Did have a malpractice attorney once as a patient (I am in the litigious OB field!)----- and no one knew til one of the nurses recognized her from her town---and knew her job. She did not say a word to anyone. Really, I was happier NOT knowing. My care for her did not "go up a notch" just because of it, however. That I can say. She was a DELIGHTFUL person, I have to add.

I shamefully admit, I would prefer NOT getting celebrity/VIPs or patients w/medical backgrounds, or at least NOT knowing if they are. I just want to give care to everyone the same way!

[BRANDY LPN]

I like to know all of my patients occupations, it helps to understand them and to help plan for discharge, someone working a very physical job (such as nursing) is not goimg to be able to return to work as soon as someone who has a less physical job on crutches for instance, and some jobs are going to be much more sensitive about breast pumping ect ... the list is endless.

Pesonally it depends on the situation, I will tell someone that I am a nurse so that they will educate me in more medical terms, I know it is crazy but I hate being talked to like a lay person, I make sure they know if I don't understand something, but it is generally easier to understand if presented in language you use, when I teach patients I try to use both medical and lay speak, tellign them in medical terms and then explaining in lay terms and I make sure they understand by asking them questions.

With my kids I always give it away when I go to tell them my daughters dx. LOL instead of saying "she has a hole in her heart" I tell them she has a ventricular septal defect and a patent ductus arteriosus with a coil embolization done at 20 months, and they say "do you work in health care?" lol I am also teaching her to know her true dx, in the event that I am not there in an emergency situation (like say she knocked a tooth out and I couldn't be reached). But im rambling now...

[Marie_LPN, RN]

I like to know all of my patients occupations, it helps to understand them and to help plan for discharge, someone working a very physical job (such as nursing) is not goimg to be able to return to work as soon as someone who has a less physical job on crutches for instance, and some jobs are going to be much more sensitive about breast pumping ect ... the list is endless.

I agree.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I find I can understand their concerns w/o being told a cautionary "he/she is a health care provider/dr/lawyer/whatever". I find those things out in good time. And I may just find out those things in good time-----Also I find I can learn of special issues each patient may have by gaining trust from my patients and learning how I can best help them individually, regardless of their occupations.

I really find many people saying "she is a nurse" in the context as if we are to "watch how we treat them". Sorry, nobody gets "VIP" treatment from me. They are treated as the unique individuals they are, and that is what counts to me.

I also find out a lot by them NOT knowing I am nurse---the type care they deliver to everyone is of particular interest to me.

[BRANDY LPN]

Originally Posted by SmilingBluEyes

I find I can understand their concerns w/o being told a cautionary "he/she is a health care provider/dr/lawyer/whatever". I find those things out in good time. And I may just find out those things in good time-----Also I find I can learn of special issues each patient may have by gaining trust from my patients and learning how I can best help them individually, regardless of their occupations.

I really find many people saying "she is a nurse" in the context as if we are to "watch how we treat them". Sorry, nobody gets "VIP" treatment from me. They are treated as the unique individuals they are, and that is what counts to me.

I also find out a lot by them NOT knowing I am nurse---the type care they deliver to everyone is of particular interest to me.

I agree with you that we should not and should not be expected to treat them any differently, but I have never taken it that way in report if anything I have always felt it made my job easier by being able to use medical terminology and not having to teach the basics before starting into more specifics. JMO

But I would be very upset if I was expected to treat soem pts differently than others, I remember this from working in a military hosp. and it was one of the only things I didn't like about that job.