So tonight there was a series of events at the home I was working in that led me to this thought. I'm working in a home where the parents are pretty out there. One of the parents has been "brainwashing" the family to believe that women are inferior to men (along with quite a few other odd beliefs). I strongly believe that it is their home and their choice to raise their family the way they want even if I disagree with their beliefs. In the past the one parent has been pushy with me and even told me he was jealous of me giving report or receiving report from his wife because he wants all of his wifes attention constantly. He has told me he doesn't want me talking to her except at certain times that he has allowed. Recently he has become even more unstable. One day hes telling me I'm the best nurse they've ever had and do more than any of the other nurses ever have. The next day hes telling me what he has to tell his wife is more important than me discussing important info about their special needs child.
Tonight he stepped over me 3 times. The 3rd time was the final straw. He yelled at me telling me the scheduling mistake by the office was my fault. But that was after yelling at me for talking to his wife about what had happened with scheduling. He demanded to see my cell phone with texts to the office about the scheduling. He also acted very aggressive to the point I felt threatened. I called my office and was able to leave early. I let him know in a professional way that I would not be talked to or treated like he was treating me. So it led me to wonder why the agencies don't check the parents background to make sure the nurse is in a safe working environment. I've been around unsafe parents in the home before. While I can understand the agency not completely disclosing a parents background check, shouldn't the agency be concerned that they are placing the nurse in a possibly dangerous environment where the nurse can be by themselves with a possibly dangerous person? I just did a little research for my safety and found out that the parent has been arrested many times for violence.
In just a couple of years this family has been through almost every agency in this area. That usually says a lot in itself. They are extremists. They are also very picky about their nurses to the point that after the agency filters their nurses to the families demands there are no nurses left to send to the home. They accused one nurse of being a witch and casting spells on them and let the nurse go. They won't allow overweight nurses. The nurses must be Christian. They won't allow a Muslim in their home for any reason. The nurse must be a non-smoker and can't wear any perfumes or scented products. The nurse must be conservative. If they are liberal the family won't allow them there. This family digs and digs to find out personal beliefs too. There are other requirements for the nurses too that I can't think of right now.
So what do you think about the parents having their background checked by the agency before the agency can start the case? Not to be used to deny care. Only to be used for the nurses safety in the home. I know the "what ifs" could be a mile long. But what if the parent is a sex offender? Isn't that something that we need to know for our safety? We are taught not to accept an unsafe assignment in nursing school. But how do we know we are in an unsafe environment before its too late?
