Tired Of Being The Bad Guy

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

The hospital where I work part time has a children's hospital incorporated into it. I occasionally work in the PICU and other units there.

The children's hospital has a standard practice of not doing painful or scary procedures in the kids room, and not having the child's nurse preform scary or painful procedures. Instead he kids are taken to a procedure room, accompanied by a child life specialists and an outside staff member is brought in to do the scary and painful procedures. That outside staff member is nearly ALWAYS me when I am working. I get a call from the nursing supervisor to please go to peds and start an IV, get and ABG, drop an NG, start a central or art line or some other procedure.

I get that they want to keep the child's nurse and room as a safe and caring place for the kids. I get that they do not want the kids to fear their primary nurse. I get that sick kids need procedures preformed on them. I get the whole thing.

I just HATE always being the one who has to play the bad guy. Despite taking as many precautions as possible to prevent pain in children during procedures, occasionally what they need done hurts them, and even when it doesn't it's usually scary for them. The child life specialists do a great job with the kids during procedures, but still crying kids is very common.

I am a father, I love children, I love caring for pediatric patients when I get the be the primary RN. I hate when cute little kids start crying just at the sight of me. Makes me feel like I must be a truly evil person.

Last night I worked transport on that hospital. When some of the other transport nurses and I went down to the cafeteria to grab some dinner there were a bunch of kids from the pediatric floor accompanied by a child life specialists there getting ice-cream sundaes. As soon as I walked in two or three of the little kids started crying as the sight of me.

Starts to get to you after a while.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

Deleted double post

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I feel for you.

It must be nice to work on that floor though, the nurses not having to do any of that.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

((HUGS)) I KNOW your pain. There was once a time none of us could escape that one look and tears for we all wore white. I'd be at the grocery store some kid would be in line and CLEARLY had had a recent experience....he took one look at my whites bent his head back and opened his mouth letting the most ear crushing wail I had ever heard!

His mother shot me the dirtiest look and made some comment about finding another line and stop scaring her child....I was crushed. I had NEVER seen that kid in my life.

Job hazard....sigh

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

We have a little chronic kid at our facility who just HOWLS at the sight of me. I've never done anything even remotely painful to him- he just doesn't like the way I look. Seriously.

I ran into him outside the hospital. His mom said she does not know why, but I'm the only person he's had this reaction to.

I feel your pain my brotha'

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I'm sorry, that really sounds like it would be hard for you.

I'm glad you're there for them, though. You sound very compassionate and caring.

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Tell them you need a break from it for a little while.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
Tell them you need a break from it for a little while.
Does your place have some kind of Employee Assistance Program for you guys? By all means, take advantage of it if poss. Is there some way you all can bring up this issue to admin? Or HR?

While in one swoop, it's not a totally bad idea as I do see its merit. But for you to be the 'BAD GUYS' all the time ... I do see the stress for you. The only thing you're NOT doing is wearing the proverbial BAD GUY black hat!

Thank you for what you do and hanging in there.

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Specializes in Oncology.

:(

What a burden to carry. I agree that asking for a break or some kind of rotation when possible is not unreasonable. When I was doing my preceptorship on a peds hem-onc floor, I wondered how anyone ever did a procedure on a crying child that was flailing around. I understand their reasoning, but it just sucks to be in your position.

I had a trach patient that "fired" me because I couldn't get an IV started on him. Anytime I was the second nurse to check blood or chemo on him after that, he would narrow his eyes and point at me and shake his head. It's crazy how some people just form that detachment to a nurse the way others form an attachment.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I definitely think you should be discussing this problem with some key people at your hospital. Employee assistance? - Maybe ...

But what about discussing it with your manager first to let him/her know the burden and distress this practice is causing? Is there some kind of employee wellness program/committee that you could raise the issue with? Maybe even the Social Workers or Chaplain Service would be worth talking to. Most hospitals have some people or committee that deal with employee satisfaction and/or wellness. See if you can bring this issue to them.

... and by the way ... I work in a Children's Hospital and I think your hospital's policy is excessive. The peds nurses don't need that much protection. In children's hospitals, the peds nurses don't have the luxury of avoiding the more uncomfortable experiences because there are no "adult" nurses around. The peds nurses learn to deal with it. In fact, it might be better for the kids if peds specialists did these procedures rather than calling in adult nurses who don't do them on a daily basis. I mean no insult to you or your adult nurse colleagues, but a peds nurse who performs procedures on children every day might be better -- and less traumatic for the child. It sounds like you have a system that is not optimal for the children or for the staff pulled in to help on a case where they don't know the kid. The only person who benefits from your current system is the peds nurses, who have found a way to avoid some of less pleasant aspects of their job by palming it off on you.

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Specializes in pediatric.

Man, I really felt for you reading your post. Even though you can logically explain it to yourself and others (they benefits, the whys...), Nothing like a crying kid to tug at the heartstrings :( Hang in there!

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I definitely think you should be discussing this problem with some key people at your hospital. Employee assistance? - Maybe ...

But what about discussing it with your manager first to let him/her know the burden and distress this practice is causing? Is there some kind of employee wellness program/committee that you could raise the issue with? Maybe even the Social Workers or Chaplain Service would be worth talking to. Most hospitals have some people or committee that deal with employee satisfaction and/or wellness. See if you can bring this issue to them.

... and by the way ... I work in a Children's Hospital and I think your hospital's policy is excessive. The peds nurses don't need that much protection. In children's hospitals, the peds nurses don't have the luxury of avoiding the more uncomfortable experiences because there are no "adult" nurses around. The peds nurses learn to deal with it. In fact, it might be better for the kids if peds specialists did these procedures rather than calling in adult nurses who don't do them on a daily basis. I mean no insult to you or your adult nurse colleagues, but a peds nurse who performs procedures on children every day might be better -- and less traumatic for the child. It sounds like you have a system that is not optimal for the children or for the staff pulled in to help on a case where they don't know the kid. The only person who benefits from your current system is the peds nurses, who have found a way to avoid some of less pleasant aspects of their job by palming it off on you.

I appreciate your point of view, and those of the others who have posted. Couple things. I am not an "adult nurse". I have a lot of peds experience and was full time staff in PICU for years. My current position with this hospital is sort of a jack of all trades. I work transport (ground ambulance) about half my shifts. The other half I work PICU, NICU SICU, MICU, ER, MICU, and about 2 or 3 shifts a year I "shadow" in L&D depending on where they need me that shift.

I will defer to your experience on the over protection of the kids. I don't know. You may well be right. My problem is that I only work nights and am only part time (my other job is full time rapid response) and never have an opportunity to speak with "the powers that be" in the hospital. That would include the employee assistance & social workers.

I also feel a sort of obligation to continue to preform procedures because, at least on the shifts I work, I am the one who is most likely to get them done the first time and not have to do multiple attempts. There are others who are better and more skilled than me but they don't work my shift.

The suggestions to talk to somebody about it is a good one and one I will pursue. I will have to decide who that should be. The manager isn't an option as she is nothing but a ladder climber with not real experience and no interest in anything except her Green Belt projects solving non-existent problems.

It occurs to me that Father Nick, the night shift Chaplin, may be the perfect person to talk to. He is often present for procedures anyway and I know him very well.

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