Is it me? What happened to nursing?

Nurses Professionalism

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I am at "year 6" of nursing, and I can't help but notice that nursing jobs seem to be getting worse and worse as time goes by!

When I first entered nursing, there was a big push for appropriate acuity of patients, constructive patient-to-nurse ratios, quality of care, and a big push to ensure nurses had rights in the workplace for things like lunch breaks, no pressure for overtime, and a quality-of-worklife standard.

Now that the economy went sour, it seems like all of these workplace improvements have gone by the wayside, and we are moving back into an "anything goes" mentality, where everything is piled on the nursing staff, and if you don't like it, there is the door.

Is it me? Am I just tired? Or does anyone else notice this?

sometimes i think patients and their families are subliminally trained to be thankless and ungrateful. i think the welcome packets they get on admission, the posters in the room and the public access channels in the hospital all sort of drill into their heads this idea of entitlement, and that no matter what, they are the only person the hospital revolves around. they're not the patient, they're the guest. this is a hospi-tel you know...there's housekeeping, there's the "dining service" dressed in their little bowties and suits that come around and take the patient's order, and then we come and take their trays away and listen to then bi*** about how horrible the food was. gee, sorry, i'll get right into that kitchen and make you a new one...oh you don't like that one either, well, how about we make you something else? that's icky too? wow, if you were my kids i'd have told you after the second course that this is dinner, take it or leave it! oh, sorry i forgot to fluff your pillow...can't have our precious heads resting on anything short of a pristinely fluffed pillow. should i tuck you in and kiss you nighnight too?

when you look at this ghastly age we live in, such behaviour has pretty much become the new normal for so many in society. as the song goes from the musical "chicago" whatever happened to class?

it seems good manners and breeding regardless of social status has nearly vanished. indeed a recent survey published awhile ago noted that even in that bastion of good manners and civility the american south, people are becoming more and more rude.

everything is about "me" and "mine's". just look around the next time you go out to dinner, shopping, to the park with the children/grandchildren or the most shining example fly on an airplane. people think the world revolves around one person, themselves and you'd better recognise.

maybe healthcare workers should start wearing "wwjd" badges on their uniforms to remind persons to think about how they treat others.

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Specializes in FNP, ONP.
And what about all the people that dump thousands and thousands of dollars into health insurance whose payment STILL isn't guaranteed. Not to say I disagree here because I do, but its not hard to see why some people expect to be treated like royalty, they're paying as if they are.

Whaaat?

Not to say you disagree here but you do? I can't respond because I don't even know what that means.

No disrespect intended, but I honestly cannot make heads or tails of your post.

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Whaaat?

Not to say you disagree here but you do? I can't respond because I don't even know what that means.

No disrespect intended, but I honestly cannot make heads or tails of your post.

No disrespect taken, I was sleeping and typing poorly, lol. I meant to say: I dont want to sound like I'm disagreeing with the general idea of these posts, because I'm not disagreeing.

I'm just pointing out that its not surprising why some people expect to be waited on.

So.... did YOU actually pay your WHOLE bill?

My insurance paid $50,000 and dropped me. I've not been able to get individual insurance since. I was responsible for the rest. The hospital got their money. I took out a loan, emptied my savings and my mother mortgaged her home to pay the balance.

Some people actually pay for what they get, be it through outrageous health insurance premiums or out of pocket. Its not right that our employers but the burdon of "customer service" on nurses but its certainly not necessarily the patients fault for wanting it.

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Specializes in FNP, ONP.

OK, I get it now. I see your point. Yes, if one is spending enough to spend a week on the the QEII, I suppose they might hope for turn down service and be sorely disappointed and inimical when they don't get it. ;-)

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.

Here's a scenario that is thought provoking:

Last year, I fell and injured my knee. Two consults and an MRI later, my bill was $5,00 AFTER insurance. My husband and I had to cut corners for this unexpected bill. We did fine, but we had that money earmarked for much needed repairs to our house, which now has to wait until next year.

The other day, a pt was very late for his scheduled surgery-which was a complicated 9-10 hour procedure, requiring 3 surgeons and 4 staff members in the OR. I paged the surgeon to tell him that the pt still hadn't arrive to the hospital after we waited for an hour. About 30 minutes later, his resident informs me that the man was homeless, didn't come to his pre-op appointment and didn't come to his clinic appointment. He stated that he tried to contact the patient, but to no avail. None of the staff in the OR knew that the pt had missed his pre-op appt, and set the OR up beautifully in preparation for this long day. Reps were called in, biofeedback staff were scheduled to deliver care, expensive supplies were opened and the anesthesiologist drew up all the meds in preparation.

Guess what? The pt never showed, and all of the resources and supplies were wasted. The procedure alone would cost around 70 grand, and the supplies were somewhere around 25 grand. Who pays for that?

It is frustrating. Our healthcare system seems to be in shambles, and I honestly don't know when or how it can be repaired.

I treat every single patient the same way-with respect, honesty and diligence. I don't care where they come from, who is paying the bill or who they know. I have a set of tasks to complete, a standard of care that I deliver consistently and a protocol to follow.

I will be honest with you...when I run across a pt that is exceedingly demanding, my knee jerk reaction is to put them in their place. However, I can't imagine not knowing what tomorrow brings, if I will have a meal, if I get caught in a thunderstorm without shelter, if I have to stand at the intersection holding up a sign that reads, "Homeless and Desperate". I am trying not to judge those that are demanding. It is a challenge.

Recently, a heat wave has affected the area that I live in. Lots of complaints have been voiced and many people are belly aching about the heat. A friend of mine called the other day, and of course I was the first one to complain about the heat. She didn't say anything for a beat or two, and I wondered if the call had been dropped. Then she said, "Canes, you might be uncomfortable with the heat for about 5 seconds while you walk from your house to the garage. Our sons have been in Afghanistan for months, in full uniform, carrying a 70 pound rucksack and trying to stay out of the line of fire in 102 degree heat. WHY are you complaining?"

Uh....that kinda put things in perspective for me.

Healthcare these days is very much like the above scenario. I continue to learn to humble myself.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Here's a couple of things that someone posted a long time ago that hit home on why a lot of places are so messed up, and I'd have to agree with them:

Hospitals with hunger for money over patient care.

Patients that think they're at the Ritz and not the the hospital and the nursing staff are maids.

Know it all family members.

Administration who is out of touch with anything on the floor.

Not to mention so many redundant administrative staff that gets paid monopoly money to essentially try to reinvent the wheel with useless protocols that make everything 10x more inefficient. Too many chiefs and not enough indians.

Docs who turf patients to inappropriate units out of convenience.

Lack of supplies but plenty of $$$ for administrative "fun" functions.

Terribad nursing supervisors.

Mandatory overtime cause always short staffed.

Redundantly charting every think 10x on the computer in 10 different places.

No lunch breaks.

Keeping gomers alive because their family refuses to accept the inevitable.

Patients are not patients, but rather customers and the customer is always right.

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Keeping gomers alive because their family refuses to accept the inevitable.

Patients are not patients, but rather customers and the customer is always right.

Exactly!!! There is my biggest frustration in medicine right now!!

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Exactly!!! There is my biggest frustration in medicine right now!!

Well you better do what you have to do in order to get over it because there is more coming.

Under ObamaCare patient/customer rating information is going to weigh more heavily when it comes to rankings and reimbursement rates.

You might want to brush up on bed making, pillow fluffing, and work on your happy/smiley face. Oh while your at it don't forget to leave a mint on the pillow after you make the bed. :D

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you know, that's exactly how it's become: nurses are concierge servants who can do a little bit of medical treatment on the side.

hahahaha.:lol2: that is exactly how i would describe my job some days!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

Recently, a heat wave has affected the area that I live in. Lots of complaints have been voiced and many people are belly aching about the heat. A friend of mine called the other day, and of course I was the first one to complain about the heat. She didn't say anything for a beat or two, and I wondered if the call had been dropped. Then she said, "Canes, you might be uncomfortable with the heat for about 5 seconds while you walk from your house to the garage. Our sons have been in Afghanistan for months, in full uniform, carrying a 70 pound rucksack and trying to stay out of the line of fire in 102 degree heat. WHY are you complaining?".

I know this is off-topic, so call me a traitor if you want, but the soldiers carrying 70-lb. packs in full uniform in 102 degree heat in Afghanistan chose to be there. There's no draft going on, so when they voluntarily joined the military, they knew there was a good possibility they would end up carrying 70 lb. rucksacks and dodging gunfire in a very hot war zone.

On the other hand, the 72-year-old widower with severe Parkinsons and no air conditioning in 102 degree heat, in a city that doesn't normally get that hot, did not choose to be there.

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OK, I get it now. I see your point. Yes, if one is spending enough to spend a week on the the QEII, I suppose they might hope for turn down service and be sorely disappointed and inimical when they don't get it. ;-)

Well, perhaps instead one should instead spend their money on the QEII and see how well all those broken bones turn out.

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I know this is off-topic, so call me a traitor if you want, but the soldiers carrying 70-lb. packs in full uniform in 102 degree heat in Afghanistan chose to be there. There's no draft going on, so when they voluntarily joined the military, they knew there was a good possibility they would end up carrying 70 lb. rucksacks and dodging gunfire in a very hot war zone.

On the other hand, the 72-year-old widower with severe Parkinsons and no air conditioning in 102 degree heat, in a city that doesn't normally get that hot, did not choose to be there.

I just want to point out that some people actually volunteer to go to A'stan. A good friend who is member of my country's national police force is over there teaching Afghans how to be police officers. And yes, he marches around villages and towns in full combat rig out.

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