Are You Kidding Me????

[Flo1216]

Last night I was at work and had to turn a patient who had a million dressings and I knew they needed to be changed. So I told the lpn who was supposed to be takin gcare of that patient and she got a big old attitude and I couldn't figure out why. I thought it was just because the guy had a million decubitus and his dressings take a long time and he didn't feel like doing it. One of the sores is so bad that you can see the entire hip bone. She goes, " I can't do it, " and I said "Why"? "She said because it makes me sick and I will throw up, " I said, " But you're a NURSE!" There's a lot of shit that grosses me out, but I still do it. Anyway, she refused to do it so me and the other CNA did it while she looked away in disgust and gagged. But even though I am a senior in nursing school, as a CNA, I am not allowed to do dressings. The other nurses can't stand her because she does stuff like this all the time. She won't do anything gross. I think maybe she just didn't know how to do it and she was afraid to say because once I worked with her and a trach patient really needed suctioning and I kept telling her but she never did it. Finally, she asked me if I could tell her how to do it. But I couldn't believe her excuse for not doing it was because it grossed her out. The other nurses were ready to KILL her because they had to do everything.

[LasVegasRN]

If I could chime in my 2 cents... I am not excusing this nurse's unprofessional behavior, she could have definitely handled her "aversion" in a better way. I say this because I have asked to be excused (in a professional way!) from a procedure because I fainted while assisting with it before. I can't seem to handle grinding bone. Bone marrow aspirations and drilling burr holes in the skull - I'll stand there, try my damndest to assist the physician, and it never fails... I blackout and faint with the sound of grinding bone. I'll try looking away, humming a tune, visualize the ocean, bite my tongue, same thing happens - the physician will be talking to me, his voice starts sounding like he's in a tunnel, everything goes bright and BOOM. I'm out.

I went to my nurse manager and discussed it with her, and we were able to find a way to work around it when those procedures came up.

[adrienurse, LPN]

I really hope that you did not let that incident slide. With nurses like that, is there any wonder how that ulcer devellopped in the first place.

[BLCaldwell]

Sad to say there are people in our profession that only went into it for the $$$$$. There are the "Don Quixote" nurses.... they tilt at every windmill on the horizon. Then there are the ones that are not part of the problem, but because of their apathy are not part of the solution. It's tiring trying to re-invent the wheel.

We need to pick our battles. We need to work together as peers and professionals.

[lisamcrn]

Flo...I want to point out that when I first read your post I was shocked and upset at the situations you and your pts. were in because this so called nurse was such as poor example. I certainly don't want to offend you, but remind you that the reprimand may come to you in the end regardless of who it should be toward. Nursing needs people like you! And if this nurse's employers won't deal with the situation something or someone eventually will...just most likely at a someone's expense.

I've been around similar situations and it's so sad. I hope things improve.