Nurses Calling Patients "Jerks"

Nurses Relations

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I am a new nurse, and I hope I don't ever become one of these nurses. I work on a demanding medicine floor, where many patients become quite needy and require a lot of attention from the nurses. I have been appalled to notice that some of the nurses on my floor resort to bashing patients while they are at the nurses station. I have heard some of them refer to certain difficult patients as jerks (or worse), and if told by the CNA or another nurse that their patient needs pain meds, they roll their eyes and in a huff go to pain scale them.

I don't know if I am wrong in feeling the way I do. I know how hard our jobs are and I realize it's therapeutic for nurses to vent about their work, but this just seems to go beyond venting. I don't feel patients deserve to be name-called at all. Some of these nurses are also the same ones that say on report that certain patients are difficult to handle in some way, but then when I have them, I get along with them very well (except for one old lady I once had, she was nice to no one, but I never bashed her with other nurses). So I take with a grain of salt what nurses report to me about the patient's demeanor. Perhaps I have a different approach? Sometimes I do give off a "I will take great care of you but I won't tolerate crap" approach. Perhaps also because I am male? Who knows.

Thanks for listening. This has been bugging me for a little while and just wanted to put it out there.

A professional nurse should not be calling a patient a "jerk" or any other derogatory name. The nurse has a right to think whatever he/she wants about the patient as we are all human. That being said, the nurse must self-examine daily...why do I not like this patient? Is it personal? Can I provide professional nursing care to this patient, despite my feelings?

Sure, there are "jerks" everywhere...yes, we do have some "jerks" as patients, but we cannot label patients...this promotes bias in our coworkers as well. If I give report to the next shift, calling a patient a "jerk" is this next nurse already predestined to look at the patient in a negative way?

I am a psych nurse who lives by the saying "QTIP" (quit taking it personal).

Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

I have an issue with pts that abuse the CNAs. Nurses, too, but I am very protective of the CNAs that I work with. There are jerks out there and I do not call them names, but when I do give report, I may pass along information that includes rude behaviors. I realize that many pts are scared, anxious, so take most with a grain of salt. That being said, I have a pt right now that is incredibly racist, very passive/aggressive and manipulative. It is VERY difficult at times to be nice. I just make sure I get myself in the right frame of mind before I go into see this pt so I do not give off any vibe of uncaring or unkindness.

gotta say I agree with the new nurse theroy.. there is NO WAY you'll make many years without running into at least one patient who'll make you seriously consider the many inappropriate use of pillows.. :) and yep.. I have often been given reports where I was told a patient was violent, hateful, hard to handle.. and your right.. it's the perception.. and then again.. I've had super hard time with some that other nurses had a great time with ... but the others are right... DO NOT DISCUSS OR TALK ABOUT PATIENTS AT THE NURSING STATION.. HALLWAYS.. RESTROOMS.. that can loose ya yer license.. get ya in trouble and in general cause ya some problems.. but know in your heart... it'll happen.. it doesn't make you a bad person or a bad nurse.. it makes you human. Good luck with your career.

Well the reality of situation is that there are some nurses that complain about EVERY SINGLE patient.... no matter what. I think that these are the people that OP is referring to. There are nurses that will call incontinent people "filthy, disgusting, nasty" even though it's obvious that the patient did not choose to lose control of their bowels. They will call dementia patients "stupid" or "retarded". There are just some people that clearly hate their jobs, and won't hesitate to let you know. Don't get me started on the nurses that moan and groan or throw a b**** fit whenever their patient is in pain, despite it being for legitimate reasons. A patient's discomfort has nothing to do with a person's lack of satisfaction with their life, or lack of self control. And yes, patients tell me that they can hear the nurses at the front desk complaining about patients.

Specializes in Med Surg.
Well the reality of situation is that there are some nurses that complain about EVERY SINGLE patient.... no matter what. I think that these are the people that OP is referring to. There are nurses that will call incontinent people "filthy, disgusting, nasty" even though it's obvious that the patient did not choose to lose control of their bowels. They will call dementia patients "stupid" or "retarded". There are just some people that clearly hate their jobs, and won't hesitate to let you know. Don't get me started on the nurses that moan and groan or throw a b**** fit whenever their patient is in pain, despite it being for legitimate reasons. A patient's discomfort has nothing to do with a person's lack of satisfaction with their life, or lack of self control. And yes, patients tell me that they can hear the nurses at the front desk complaining about patients.

I worked with a nurse like that. Every time I'd get report from her, she would have something negative to say about the majority of her patients. It drove me nuts. Yes, we're all going to encounter some real stinkers, but if all your patients are PITAs, maybe it's time to look within.

Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.

It's very easy to throw stones, but you've just moved in to your newly-purchased glass house, so you might just want to lay your rocks right back down on the ground. They shouldn't be saying it at the nurses desk, they should save it for the break room or the locker room, but in there they should be allowed to vent! And they should be allowed to vent without the newly-minted Nightingale tsk-tsking in the background. Some people are jerks. They may be jerks every minute of their lives, and as patients they have captive victims. Better to call them jerks among colleagues than blow up in front of the patient. I want my coworkers to know I support them and back them up. If they know that about me, then I'm pretty sure I can get the same from them. If they need to vent to me, and then square their shoulders and plaster a smile on their face while chanting "just 4 more hours and then I can give report" before they walk into the jerk's room, fine, so be it, I'm glad to be there for them. How sad to think I would have to put up with abuse from a patient and superiority and condenscension from the new kid, too!

Here's a general rule of thumb: about 6% of the population are, and always will be braying jackasses.

That's funny. Unfortunately, I think I may fall into that 6%.

It would become a problem when a 'jerk' patient is in pain, said nurse roles their eyes and stalls caring for them. Honestly some people are horrible to deal with, and you can eyeroll and ***** all you want to yourself, and yes venting to your coworkers, but you have to still do your job.

Specializes in Oncology.

If you can't talk about patients with your fellow nurses in the privacy of the nurses' station, you can't really talk about it anywhere. I'm a brand new nurse, only a month in and still on orientation, and I have absolutely no problem with nurses venting about patients. It's a really hard job and the only people who understand our job fully are other nurses.

I had a patient who "fired" me from being their nurse because they were NPO for hours on end and their procedure was late. This patient complained over and over to me all shift about being hungry and thirsty. This patient also was disrespectful to me on various occasions. I had to reinforce the fact that the procedure required 8 hours of being NPO. Did I freak out on the patient or act rude? Nope. But I certainly passed along in report to night shift that this patient was needy, rude, and angered by the fact that the procedure was late. And you can bet that I vented to my fellow nurses throughout the day. It kept me able to be sweet as pie to the patient, and at the same time understanding that I was doing the best I could and this patient was simply a jerk.

Why are assault charges not brought to the patient who is abusive to hospital personnel attending to their care? I've heard of RN, CNA, etc. being charged with battery & assault, but never the patient. Are the patients immune from the consequences of their behavior when staying in a medical unit?

I don't agree with RNs and medical personnel bashing pts verbally at the nurses station, but I also don't agree with the patients unbecoming behavior and insults. Maybe RNs & medical personnel feel powerless in such situations. My experience with difficult patients is limited as I am still a student, but it has to be frustrating to deal with. I can understand the desire to name-call these patients.

It would become a problem when a 'jerk' patient is in pain, said nurse roles their eyes and stalls caring for them...

Doesn't seem to be a problem here:

...if told by the CNA or another nurse that their patient needs pain meds, they roll their eyes and in a huff go to pain scale them...

They're going to do their work. Unfortunately it's just not cheerfully enough for you.

Specializes in Medical Oncology, Alzheimer/dementia.

As for nurses venting/bashing patients, I think there's a time and a place for everything. IMO, the nurses station isn't the right place. I go by what my mother taught me long ago, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. What good does it do, really? Is bashing a patient at the nurses station going to make that patient act less demanding, less needy, more pleasant?

Nobody's perfect in these type of situations. I realize venting might be the one thing that helps us make it through the shift. I try not to put too much of my personal feelings about a patient or their family in shift report. Truthfully, no one would probably know from my actions that this patient got on my last nerves for hours...

Fake it 'til I make it.

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