An open letter to the ER triage nurse

[laurasc]

I wrote this letter to a Triage nurse. I don't know her name as she did not introduce herself to me. I haven't decided what I am going to do with it...but I figured I would post it here to start. It's an interesting experience being on the other side of the gurney for a change.

Let me know what you think.

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I write this letter to the ER triage nurse who was on duty May 11, 2011 at a local hospital.

On that day I was taken to the ER by ambulance. I had experienced sudden neurological symptoms, was having trouble standing and walking and was very frightened even though I was trying very hard to stay calm. Anyone who's been in that situation knows how awful it is and how your mind races thinking up the worst case scenarios. I had chosen your hospital because I had been there in the past and know it to be an excellent hospital.

When you called me in (the ambulance attendants had to take a number and wait to be called) you sat down in front of your computer and started to take the report from one of the ambulance attendants. You barely looked away from your computer screen, and from my perspective didn't make eye contact with the ambulance attendant. You did not look at me or acknowledge me.

When you were done, I asked you if it was possible for me to go to the bathroom. You waved past the triage room towards the waiting room and said, "There's a bathroom over there, you can walk there."

My friend, who had accompanied me, responded, "But she's having trouble walking."

You responded, "That's not my problem. I can't go to the bathroom for her. There are wheelchairs all over the place."

The ambulance attendants helped me into a wheelchair and my friend took me to the bathroom.

You didn't know this at the time, but I will tell you this now....I am a Registered Nurse and have been for 26 years. I know what it is to be overwhelmed, overworked, undervalued, underpaid and frustrated. I know what it is to be stressed and I know how it feels to burn out. I've been there, done that and have the t-shirt so to speak.

I truly understand that your job can be difficult at best, But let me ask you something....how is all that my fault?

What did I, as your patient, do to deserve to be treated so rudely? Do you think I wanted to be there strapped to that ambulance gurney? Do you think I timed having my bladder being so full it was painful right for that moment? How much would it have cost you to turn to me and actually look at me? A nursing assessment consists of at the very least looking at your patient and not just relying on the report of the ambulance attendants. How difficult would it have been to simply tell me that you would get me a wheelchair once you were done? (There was one right next to my gurney) How difficult would it have been to crack a little smile? I wasn't asking anything complicated, all I wanted was to pee.

Remember, I am one of you. I too have been on your side of the bed and I too have felt the sting of the profession we chose. So I think it is safe for me to say, with some authority borne from experience that there is never an excuse for a nurse to treat his or her patient the way you treated me.

I'm writing this to put a voice to this problem. I know I'm not the only patient who's had to go through this or worse. Sadly, this kind of behaviour has become rampant. I see examples of that everywhere. Our current health care system with all its problems has put our profession is in crisis. The lack of funding, lack of resources and lack of staffing means that nurses are shouldering a huge burden. I get that! But our patients are in crisis as well and we are the professionals who are caring for them. That's why we are nurses, to care for people. Caring means kindness, not rudeness.

My friend, who is not a nurse, was aghast. She later told me that while we were in the triage room she witnessed another nurse yelling at a very elderly woman and dragging her down the hall by the hand. My friend was going to say something but was told by the ambulance attendant not to say anything because the nurse would "make a spectacle of her."

That is a sad statement considering we are talking about a profession known for caring. Have some of us really forgotten who and what we are and why we are doing what we do? Maybe we should all spend some time on "the other side of the gurney" for a change.

I do have to add one thing however, the ambulance attendants were phenomenal. They were caring, gentle, patient and knowledgeable...literally everything a health care professional should be and more.

[RNTOBE_1970]

That is incredibly sad that you were treated that way. I have always treated my patients the way I wanted my family treated. I loved them all-I have taken away a little something from each and every encounter...even if it was as simple as learning to bite my tongue.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

Sounds like a horrible experience....but you know how nurses are with other nurses. If you'd told her you were a nurse, she probably would have told you to save the wheelchairs for a "patient."

I've been in the ER 3 times in my life, once for something that I know now was a ruptured ovarian cyst. The MD in the ER took one look at my age (23), that I lived in a "college town" and that it was Sunday morning, and proceeded to tell my about the dangers of drinking, even though I'd told him I don't drink, don't do drugs, and the pain was so severe that I was worried it was my appendix -- I lived alone and if I'd gotten into trouble, the cat can't dial 911. He never listened to me, never drew blood to see if I was septic, disregarded my temp as me being "agitated" (uh, yeah, it hurt like a beast), and sent me out the door. I met his demographic of a party girl the morning after, and he never looked further. I later ended up having my ovaries removed because of severe polycystic disease and endometriosis.

[Batman25]

Send it. Whether it makes her think twice in the future who knows but you will feel better knowing you did your part to call the issue to her attention. You could also send a letter to hospital management.

[mybrowneyedgirl, BSN, RN]

I agree. Send that letter. I triage and would NEVER treat someone like that. All my patients are treated like family.

[Chin up]

I would send it as an open letter to your local newspaper. There is no excuse for rudeness and sadly the only way it will get addressed, is through bad press. I would remove all identifying markers, such as the date. But would make sure the name of the hospital is identified. Let them monitor what is going on in their institution, figure out why it is happening and fix it. Peace!

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

I'm going to get blasted for this...............

To the OP: Why didn't you voice your outrage at the time of the offense? You were in a unique position as a nurse and as a patient to reprimand those slobs who "cared" for you.

You are absolutely correct. Poor behavior has become rampant in every area of our lives. I wish you would have spoken up. You would have been your own advocate, and been an example to the rest of the people waiting in the ER for their turn to be treated like poop.

[No Stars In My Eyes]

I agree with exposing the treatment you received ; that whole scenario is appalling, scary, and inexcusable! RAISE 99 KINDS OF HELL!

[ShortStackRN]

I would DEFINITELY send that letter...she should be reprimanded for that behavior.

[CaregiverGrace]

You should absolutely send it. However, as a nurse you well know that to a certain extent, this is a byproduct of the system. Yes, this nurse was wrong in her behavior, but the commonality of this type of behavior suggests to me that the system breeds an attitude of cynicism, disregard, and poor care. The combination of understaffing and overdocumenting has many nurses at their wits end just to get through a shift. I dare say that the ambulance attendants are more pleasant, to some extent, because their job responsibilities are more consistent, enjoyable, and less stressful. If this particular woman was working as an ambulance attendant, she would probably have acted in a similar way to them.

[kakamegamama]

Yes, send it. As I read your story I thought I was reading my own of 18 years ago. I did send a letter to the CNO and CEO of the hospital. Wish I had thought of the newspaper! As to why you didn't say anything--if you had, it possibly/probably would have had a negative impact based upon your description of the situation and you probably were more concerned about what was going on in your body rather than if they knew you are a nurse. In my own situation---I was pegged as a nurse by the watch I had on, of all things. That made my experience more negative, I think, because the nurse/NP/doc were all suddently very defensive and slow to respond to my needs (they were not busy--several empty beds). Anyway, that's another story for my own post. Yes, again, send it to the CNO, the CEO, the ER director, and if need be, the newspaper. Awful doesn't even come close.....

[Turd Ferguson]

Our current health care system with all its problems has put our profession is in crisis.

Fix that one little grammatical error and send that bad boy somewhere to be published publicly.

Your letter is well written, your methods are well thought out, and you have every right to expose this situation.