Nurse sees worst, best of profession during daughter's ER visit

This unfortunately isnt' the first ER horror story I've had come out of that hospital. I heard a much more minor story of an ER nurse starting an IV and putting the opened sticky-side of the tegaderm on her scrub pants while she inserted the cath and then placing it over the patient's IV, with the blue lint stuck all over the "sterile" side. Of course, I do work at the rival hospital (St. John's) in Springfield, MO, so all I hear are the horror stories. Nonetheless, that is pitiful! Obviously, they weren't too busy or they wouldn't have had the time to sit and chat...I am sorry for this mother who had to watch her daughter in such pain.

Ordering food and eating is ok but not in front of patients and families. One can give one's food order in seconds and go back to business. It doesn't have to be an all night affair. Also, patients are priorities. A nurse's social life is not. If one receives an emergency call it's one thing. One call in the evening to say goodnight to the little ones is ok. BUT NOT IN FRONT of OUR PATIENTS!!!! Cell phone in duty areas have to go!!!

For one thing, the writer considered herself an "insider." She certainly could have been in and out of the "staff only" areas in the emergency room. The fact that she claims to be aware of what the staff were doing at the nurse's station argues for this. And we don't know that the staff DID spend more than "a few seconds" ordering food or more than a few moments eating it. Given the vitriol of this woman's rant, it's entirely possible that she made a much bigger deal out of the ordering and consuming of food than it was. Same as far as the cell phone calls go . . .

I hate this thread, read it, look up the original writer, and see the responses of many ER nurses. As a nurse educator, she of all people should know how it is....or at least she claimed to know. No evidence was ever shown that she ever worked in ER or any other "stressful" area. Read everything including the original articles and follow ups through the threads. THEN comment on the thread.

It's always terrible when a child is sick, or anyone is experiencing belly pain, HOWEVER for those of who triage we all know who gets in ABC SOB MI/CP and Stroke, everyone else is secondary. Stinks, but those are the facts. The fact that the author is a nurse and claims to know this, yet still writes poorly of her peers made her a target for many. There are many who made the decision to keep her daughter waiting, a triage nurse who may not get a break and may need to eat at her desk should not be the object of her wrath.