Rate your nurse? Check out this can of worms...

[CloudySue]

Does this bother anyone else but me? Just the headline invites parents to sign up to trash their nurses, rather than write good reviews. I'll reserve my opinion until I hear what you all have to say about this.

[amoLucia]

I see a box pix of a nurse in turquoise scrubs. Can't read any print. I THINK I know where it may be going but I'll venture you're probably right.

[nursel56]

It looks like a confusing concept at least so far. The pictures are your typical smiley advertising-type nurses typically used in the marketing of a product but the motivation behind it is clearly from the other side ie the statements "this site was started out of necessity" (which leads to a broken or nonexistent link) and the banner "problems with home care nurses?".

From a practicality angle it seems like a cumbersome way to find a nurse unless they are talking about nurses not hired as a result of a contract with an agency. At least they require the person providing the review to use their real name which provides some avenue for redress if a consumer unfairly trashes someone on their site. I predict it will not get that many reviews but we shall see!

We're now in the same category as those review sites for doctors, dentists, and rental cars!

[amoLucia]

OOPs. Didn't realize that I could click on the box.

We are NOT amused by it.

[SinikRN101]

I get that there are some nurses who try to please people and do more of the "customer service" role. But this is ridiculous I went to school for Nursing not customer service. If I wanted to kiss behind all day I would have picked a different career. I'm there to do my job and nothing more and nothing less. Not only that, who knows if what they put online is true, sounds like a good way to open up libel to me.

[HisTreasure, BSN, RN]

The whole concept seems libelous. I mean, seriously, if a parent likes or even tolerates a nurse-- and that nurse is filling adequate shifts on their case, then the likelihood of them logging on to that site to shout it from the rooftops that they've found a winner is slim to none. Why? Because if they peg a nurse as 4+ stars, do you know how many other parents would RUSH to steal that nurse? The only way it would work is if the family no longer needs nursing and they are recommending a nurse; but then again, how often would that happen? Once a family is done with nursing, they pretty much wash their hands of it. I hardly suspect they'll be trolling for ways to keep nursing a part of their lives by becoming a member to a site marketed to those who currently have PDN needs. No... the whole thing is fishy. PDN is NOT like doctor practices, rental cars, or hotels. There is very little benefit to the family that no longer needs nursing, and it only opens an avenue for complaints that may or may not be exaggerated or made out of malice.... And truly, how many of us take time to speak openly about GREAT things? No, people are more vocal when they're angry than they are when they are content.

[ventmommy]

Umm, who had this genius (and by genius, I mean awful) idea?

I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND the need to vent about crappy nurses (and crappy families). No one on the trach parents' board or other SN groups I belong to posts names like "Nurse Jane Doe from Wichita, KS did......" when they have a complaint. When people in groups like that have a complaint they NEVER use the nurse's name.

I think using nurse full names AND license numbers and parent full names is going to lead to a whole lot of liability problems for the site, the parents and the nurses.

If a complaint is that bad you need to call out the nurse's info publicly, your first step should have been the DON for the agency and then the BON for your state.

[CloudySue]

There is a huge debate about this on a closed site on Facebook for parents of trached kids. It's getting very nasty. The nurses are saying what you are all saying, and the parents are all pitchforks and torches. They truly have axes to grind and making home health nurses sound like incompetent killers. I said that there are too many irrational people who would think nothing of ruining a nurse's reputation simply over a personality difference, and I would have NO problem defending my license and livelihood by legal means. Nurses protect their licenses like momma bears. This all said, I think this site is not going to work out. Something like this will not catch on, they have to put their full name and city, and cannot hide behind a fake name.

[ventmommy]

So I haven't been on that FB site since my little one passed away but I wanted to see what they say because they periodically have had some parent vs. nurse drama and this sounds a like a fight in process.

Anyway, there is one person who is super defensive of the site and I am wondering if she is the one behind it.

I know that when my son was in the PICU and I met another mom that used the same agency we did, we complained about the same one nurse but wouldn't mention our fave nurses because you are exactly right...no one gives away favorite nurse or babysitter names because that's like asking for them to be lured away.

[ventmommy]

Oh, so shady...

So the woman that originally posted this on the Tracheostomy FB page was *******. It only took me a tiny bit of playing on the google to find that she resides (and is being sued) at the same address that the 5starnurse site uses as it's own address.

[CloudySue]

LOL Ventmommy that's some good Sherlocking! I've been PM'ing w that other nurse Amanda and we figured that was Nikki's site!!! Either that or Myra, who's also been nasty. (Drew first blood w name-calling.) Ironically it's those types of moms that we fear, we're quite certain that either one of those would throw their nurses under the bus as they see fit.

[HisTreasure, BSN, RN]

Oh, Ventmommy... that made me LOL! I'm on that site, too, because of when I was doing medically fragile foster care and I hadn't given it a second thought. I had to make a trip back there yesterday myself... and yes, it all makes sense now.