Would you feel safe being a patient at your hospital or medical facility?

jsjonesrn · Mar 2, 2000

Definitely not! My sister, recently dx with pancreas cancer underwent whipple 01/05. I work in PACU & was fired over questioning my sister's care. She developed pulmonary edema which was not recognized by a 6 month RN & was taken to ICU & placed on ventilator.

Then she extubated herself & they couldn't get her reintubated & we had to wait a week to see if there was brain damage. To top it off, the ICU nurses told my family we would not be allowed to visit if we spoke or touched my sister, as she perceived us as rescuers. It has been a NIGHTMARE!

TONI RN · Mar 7, 2000

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Originally posted by bshort:
Would you feel safe being a patient at your hospital or medical facility?

I'm sorry to say no. I recently had surgery in December and I chose to have my operation at another hospital. The care that is being given at my place of work has declined over the last two years, moral is low, we are over-worked, and turn over is high. Please don't get me wrong. My hospital has some of the most qualified nurses in our state, and they are truly dedicated. But, our facilaty does dont staff properly and we find ourselves feeling guilty at the end of our shifts, because we were not given the time/tools to care for patients to the standard they deserve. I myself have been
in these situations many times, wondering what my patients must think of me. I did not want to be a victim of the hospitals misappropriation of staff, so I went elsewhere.

CANRN, MSN, RN · Mar 7, 2000

I would NEVER leave a family member of mine at ANY hospital without being there 24/7!! My sister is living with Cancer, she is 44 years old and not ready to die. She was in the hospital a year ago with pneumonia. I received a call on a Sunday night from my other sister to tell me to GET TO THE HOSPITAL NOW! Pam was in 'congestive heart failure" I got to the hospital and she was not in CHF, she was in end stage respiratory failure! During my 'visit' I assessed her without a stethescope, could feel and hear the rhonchi, respers were 48, her heart rate was in the 150's and NOT ONE NURSE came into that room, AFTER I sent a sister to get one of them. SHe was cyanotic. I ran down the hall told them to get respiratory needed to be called and would they do a pulse ox and they needed to call the doctor as her condition was deteriorating rapidly. I was told it was 'not time' for a respiratory treatment, (she had 45 mins to go yet) and they did not have an order for pulse ox checks. UNBELIEVABLE! I informed them that if they paged the RT, they would be here within the time frame that a treatment could be given, and you do NOT need an order for a non invasive test like a pulse ox, give me a break! (they had no clue I was a nurse who worked in critical care) ONe of the nurses, *sighed* and came down to her room did a pulse ox and it was 44%!! I asked three times, are you calling the doctor now? After getting NO RESPONSE, I informed them all that unless they got on the phone and called the doc, I WOULD!

Needless to say, she finally got the treatment she needed, spent three days in ICU on a C-Pap. It is a year later and she is now home awaiting the arrival of her first grandchild.

I believe that the attitudes of the nurses was 'she has cancer, she's going to die anyway so why give her the treatment she needs'

Let this be a wake up call to all nurses, Just because a patient has a terminal illness and has NO DIRECTIVES, that still makes them a full code and you do all you can to help that patient. The WILL to live is far more powerful than many diseases, and we can't forget that. This woman is amazing! She has dified death on more than that occassion and is a true testimony.

All I can say is, God puts us where we need to be.

Nurse Entrepreneur · Mar 7, 2000

[i would feel safe if I were delivering a baby. Anywhere else in the hospital..no way.

mcrow · Mar 9, 2000

With all of the negative responses it makes me think ---How safe is it to be a nurse working in these facilities? I have been out of the inpatient setting for awhile, but I remember going home after a really hard day(there where lots of them) and worrying if I had done everything I was supposed to. It is not the nurses fault there is just not enough of them on any one shift to go around to everyone. Yes, that creates an enviroment for mistakes. I remember feeling so overwhelmed I had to go on to other work. I am glad I did because I have seen lawsuits filed against the hopital and nurses where I did work. Working for myself at home is a lot less stressfull than relying on others to look out for me.

If nurses feel these negative thoughts, what could the general public, who have no insight or empathy, be thinking????

sminiard · Mar 10, 2000

I would feel safe only because I am an employee and would be treated accordingly. I would be recognized as such so that other employees would be extra cautious when providing my care. Unfortunately, the heavier workloads make it next to impossible for every patient to receive this level of care. It is sad, but it is all too true. We as nurses need to force employers to afford us the opportunity of providing that same level of care to all. It can be done, even now, but it often comes only after excellent nurses have crumpled under the stress of burnout. This needs to be changed, and only we, as nurses, can change it!

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jsjonesrn · Mar 11, 2000

This is in response to sminiard's reply. Be cautious about how you THINK your colleagues will treat you. I had been an RN at my hosp for 6 yrs & my sis,who had the whipple, 14 yrs. I also thought we would be treated better", but not so. I was her medical POA & was never called when she was taken back to ICU, called when she was given blood, had a C-line placed, reintubated, etc. I was never given test results & when I checked them in our computer system, was fired!

Judy Cook · Mar 17, 2000

Originally posted by bshort:
Would you feel safe being a patient at your hospital or medical facility?

Give us your opinion, comments or suggestions by posting a reply to this message.

I work in a long term care facility. I would be very confident in staying in, or recommending my facility to anyone. I am able to work one on one with a group of people that are always striving to go one step better. When you work beside people who are willing to work as a team, it amakes all the difference in the world. Their goal is to strive to improve the quality of life for our residents in any way they can. They also strive to improve the working atmosphere for employees. No person, nor place is perfect, but, when you hear a group of leaders make statements such as "ok, now it's time to let us know how we can make things better." And mean it, then you know you are working where each employee counts and can make a difference. When you can look at your residents and know they are getting the best care possible, it is no wonder we are proud employees. For after all the residents are what it's all about. We all know if 'They ain't happy, ain't nobody happy' And they deserve the best quality of life we have to offer.

Nancy1 · Mar 18, 2000

I am very disturbed by the negativity I am reading. I am curious, if things are that bad, what steps did you take to try to improve care. Everyone has horror stories, but I am sure there are others out there that have something nice to say about their facilities.

I currently work in LTC and I too would feel comfortable if I had to stay as a patient. I know that at some point my mother may need care and I hope she would consider the facility I work for.

After reading these replies, I am recalling something I heard at a seminar on customer satisfaction. It went something like - If the service is poor you tell 10 people, if the service is good you tell 2 or 3. This is sad.

When you have had such bad service, did you write a letter to the DON or the administrator and relate the poor service to the standards of practice? There was a time I felt the service to a family member was not up to par, so I let the DON know. Perhaps if enough people send letters the administration some improvements could be made. Be proactive, not reactive. NA

Theresath · Mar 19, 2000

I feel lucky to work in a facility that I would recommend any of my family members go too. The standards are different for the rehabilitation hospital I work in then some of the hospitals I have been in. Even though we have plenty of nursing job openings, our short-staffed situation is not anything like what acute care setting hospitals are facing. The patients we deal with are much more sick then 8 years ago, it can get overwhelming as a nurse. My colleagues are wonderful at working together and helping each other out. I believe it helps being their for others too. Their are downfalls about working for a company that is for profit, the pay! Making more money and working in an overstressed situation isn't worth it. Many of the patients I have worked with have commented on how the people I work with work so well together. Happy to be a rehabilitation nurse.

Kath · Mar 19, 2000

I have to say that I agree with most of the people replying....

I wouldnt want to stay any where I have been (I'm still a student)

the infection controll is incredibly sloppy and care??? what is that????

I also work as a dental nurse and that amazes me too... I wouldnt want to go where i work... no way!!

mavis · Mar 22, 2000

I recently had surgery and was a patient in the hospital that I work in. I can say that it was a very disturbing experience. I must say that I do understand understaffing, and being busy but I felt a little neglected. I was in the room for 20 minutes before anyone realized I had been transferred from the PACU, being that I had had back surgery I was told that i could not get out of bed with out assistance, but when I rang no one came, the PT in the bed next to me did not speak english and was in a tremendous amount of pain, when she called for help noone came. The Rn who admitted me to the floor was the first nurse that I saw and the last to see when I begged the PA to discharge me. I was there for 24hrs, no one checked on me or anything, (after being intubated ice chips are nice), at discharge the RN said "PLEASE DON'T GO, YOUR MY BEST PT", I REPLIED "KNOW WHY?, I AM AN RN" SHE SAID " YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD US". MY POINT IS THIS, IT SHOULDN'T MATTER WHO OR WHAT YOUR PT IS, WE SHOULD ALL CARE TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITIES!!!