I have to admit, I have found some of these posts to be interesting. I hear alot of complaining about patients. I have to ask, is this a health care facility or a jail??? Having worked as a police officer, I know that individuals on probation are treated better than dialysis patients. You are very, very lucky, you are making a nice salary with benefits, while most of your patients are on public assistance, who has the better life? I am sure that most of you are married, how many of the people that you serve will have that same chance? You can go where you want and do as you please for the most part, how many of the people you serve have that same outlet? Your kidneys work 168 hours per week, the people you serve are lucky to get 12 hours per week. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the cause of diabetes is unknown. In a December 2006 study at the Mayo Clinic(Lancet) overweight individuals do not have anymore cardiovascular problems than the general population. Individuals that take blood pressure medicine do not live any longer, maybe a few months(Professor Emeritus of Organic Chemistry Joel Kauffman, Ph.D.-MIT) In addition, regardless of health condition, there is only 0.2 percent absolute risk chance of having a heart attack in one year, in other words, statins are worthless.(Former Chief of the New England Journal of Medicine Jerome Kassirer-Nephrologist).
Believe it or not, most of my family is in Nursing. However, I think there is an incredible amount of hypocrisy in the dialysis industry. It is stated that you want patients or consumers to be independent, yet, you do everything possible to prevent that from happening. If we really wanted patients or consumers to be independent, we would use Nocturnal dialysis or otherwise called Expanded treatments, 12 hours is criminal and not enough dialysis. Would you accept that treatment for yourself or your family, I think not. There was a paper put out recently by Fresenius Nephrologists that 4 days per week of dialysis should be the bare minimum of dialysis per week, I would agree. How you would like to be a diabetic and only drink 32ozs of fluid per day??? Think about walking in the desert for days with no water, this is what the dialysis establishment does to these people. It is a stupid and unrealistic policy, not in reality. Do not eat this, do not have that, do not drink even though you feel like you are in the desert, how goofy.
If you have ever watched the show, "Jon and Kate, Plus 8?" Kate was a dialysis Nurse and I noticed she was a very controlling individual. When someone told me that she was in the dialysis industry, I laughed and I was not surprised. I thought police officers had control issues, geez. I am a Home Dialysis Patient and yes, they try to be very, very controlling. What would you do if someone told you how to eat, 24 hours per day? We are not your children, I am not your child. I have a four year college degree and I have been to graduate school. In fact, there is one gentleman at DaVita with a Ph.D. in Physics. Just because we sit in a chair, we are not fools. I have the grades for law school at Stanford or Yale, so you are not better than me. When I become an attorney, I think I will sue dialysis chains that toss patients for no reason. Many times, dialysis chains toss patients that are just advocating for a better modality or care, they dislike patients that are vocal about their health, I know they are a pain in the fanny. No, I do not advocate tolerating verbal abuse or violence, that should never be tolerated. No, I do not like the majority of malpractice attorneys. Yet, I think the way dialysis patients are treated is criminal.
Some day, each and everyone of you will be sick and have an illness, would you want to be treated as you treat your dialysis patients or consumers? Would you want compassion or loud moralizing lectures? How would you feel if you were very thirsty and wanted a drink, felt like you were in the desert, and were told in a condescending fashion that you did not "Need a drink?" I am curious, is that how you would want to live the last days of your lives??? I have to say that I would not treat anyone of you as I have been treated, that is why I left In-Center dialysis.
I have loved many Nurses dearly in my life and had a great respect for the Nursing profession. However, in this field, my respect level has decreased to seeing some more like parole officers than Nurses. I think this is a industry that is really in serious need of reform. The day of change will come when we have freedom in the health care system, without government control freaks. This will give dialysis patients the power to fire loud and controlling dialysis personnel. I have to confess, I have never in 43 years met so many arrogant and controlling individuals in my life, who believe the attitude of blaming the patient, first.
