A Word To The Wise.........

[NDXUFan]

Have been hearing a number of complaints about workers in dialysis, harassing and assaulting dialysis patients. It is assault under the law to touch someone when they have asked you not to touch them. http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2903.13 I have heard complaints of dialysis patients having their feet stepped on by dialysis personnel during a treatment, blood being thrown on the dialysis patient or dialysis patient's being hit with a salt water bag. In addition, I have heard complaints about patients asking that certain dialysis personnel not perform fistula sticks on them, after that dialysis worker hurt them the first time of the sticking. Again, if the patient asks you not touch them and that worker ignores the patient, that is grounds for an assault charge.

I have also heard of complaints where patients are being discharged and they have no clue that is coming..... I have also heard of "meetings" where the Kidney specialist, FA, Nurse, and Social Worker are in a room and stacked against the patient, who is ambushed and is unable to defend themselves. Please be advised, if the charges are false, the patient can hire an attorney and file a lawsuit for libel and slander. If the patient dies because of these actions, there is a possible wrongful death suit pursued by the patient's estate, in addition to a libel and slander.....

I really like the vast majority of you and I think you really care about the patients. However, as we all know, there are bad apples in any field, police included. I have advised patients who are assaulted by dialysis staff, to call 9-11 and press assault charges. I have also advised dialysis patients who are assaulted to contact their local district attorneys or victim's advocates.

I have also been told of cases where dialysis patients have been unfairly discharged, and given an option of a dialysis clinic 50-60 miles away from their home. Yes, I know this type of harassment goes on, it happens in government, all of the time. I was also told of a case where a man in a wheelchair with no legs, was discharged from a dialysis under police escort. As a former police officer, it is outrageous. Honestly, what do you think a man with no legs in a wheelchair is going to do to you???

Having worked as a police officer, I know and understand that there are two sides to every pancake and I have been cussed at, called every name in the book, ****** on, you name it, I have experienced it, before you say, "You do not know what it is like."

I have also heard of patients been discharged for disagreeing with reuse and for asking questions about their treatments. I also know that in those "meetings" the patient is not allowed to see the comments and charges against them, sounds like the old Soviet Union or Nazi Germany. Yes, if you are curious, my family is from Germany.

Yes, I know, many times management blames Nursing and it always is it so..... In fact, it happened to my mom. I know that many of you are good people :) However, my word to the wise to the bad apples, is that you are going to have some very unpleasant results if you abuse or assault dialysis patients. If you go to jail for this crime, I hate to tell you that the other inmates at the jail hit back. If you are curious, a misdemeanor of the first degree or M1 is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

I'm not sure what your being a police officer has to do with your credibility on nursing issues.

[NDXUFan]

First, I did not tolerate abuse of the public by any police officer. Second, if I saw any kind of police misconduct, I made sure that they hanged for it. Third, was asked my opinion about a police officer receiving a D.U.I, I said he should lose his job, there can not be a double standard. Four, more than anything, the police must, must be held to a much higher standard. Five, my fellow officers and I hated dirty police officers and we made sure that they paid for their actions. With me and my partners, there was no code of blue silence.

[NDXUFan]

No matter what I tell you, you will not believe it. So, think what you want....

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

No matter what I tell you, you will not believe it. So, think what you want....

If you want to have a debate, then let's debate. You have a degree, I have a degree. You should have some concept of how practice and procedures in most professions nowadays are based on evidence.

But do not accuse me of an unwillingness to engage in a professional conversation when I've given you ample opportunity to provide evidence and you have failed to do so.

[Chisca, RN]

Threads like this save me from having to visit the I hate dialysis forum.

[Guttercat, ASN, RN]

Oy. I have not read all the posts.

I am a little confused about this post altogether, and what it is trying to accomplish.

In my umpteen years as a dialysis RN (acute and chronic) I've never witnessed outright patient abuse. Does that mean we don't lip- off inappropriately on occasion? No. When I have a tech that is doing their best professionally to help a person, and that tech is being called a "****" and told "This is your last ******* day, "*****" by someone that knows the game and knows there are no consequences, I step in.

Dialysis is a funny animal. We garner long term relationships with our patients, and this can blur the lines of what is appropriate on both sides of the needle. Staff can get too familiar, and patients can get too familiar.

However, OP, when death threats (and even outright assaults) are made against docs and staff, you can better believe that the offending patient has many more "rights" and leniency than staff. It can be incredibly difficult to maintain decorum and professionalism when that is the case. I suspect it is the same with cops in their profession.

What is sad to me, is that for the majority of patients and staff, we are all working toward the same goal--a happy (as happy as one can be with ESRD) outcome. But somehow, there are existing pockets of an "us and them" culture.

Dialysis can be at once the worst and the best of humanity all rolled into one. Maybe that is why I love the dialysis patient demographic so much. I'm not so sure that between dialysis patients, and dialysis staff, that there exists a more exquisite, painful, and beautiful relationship within all of medicine.

[sapphire18]

It feels like we nurses are being scolded and yelled at for abusing our patients- coming from out of nowhere...did a specific incident happen recently that was publicized in the media, or something? I'm so confused.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Apparently sapphire, 2-5% (it changes from post to post) of nurses are unprofessional and abusing their patients. These statistics are backed up by someone that has the grades to go to the #3 law school. (Why not Harvard though? Like it's hard?) I prefer to get my nursing statistics from someone that's passed a couple of actuarial exams, or at minimum has a 180 LSAT score to go with their grades, but that's just me.

[ausrnurse]

Why did I click on this post

I have never in my life seen a nurse assault a patient. I quit my job in dialysis because I was sick of being groped, assaulted and screamed at by patients while I was only trying to do my job. I worked at a unit with security for too long and frequently listened to patient complaints about being transferred to that unit because it was inconvenient for them. I'm sure it was inconvenient for the nurse you assaulted, which is what got you transferred there in the first place!

Jeez, I almost missed working in dialysis for a second there. I'm not sure why a patient is on a nursing board telling nurses how to do their jobs? I find the majority of posts from this particular OP to be deliberately inflammatory and have been handled with a lot of grace by the nurses here.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

But mostly it's not the 2-5%, it's the techs, or the management!

Or my personal favorite. . . The fact that nurses have "absolute power".

Oh honey, bless you for thinking that, but even your own posting refutes that as you address the constraints placed on nurses by management policies and government (or was that another meandering rant I read earlier tonight?).

[kdunurse]

I have also heard of patients been discharged for disagreeing with reuse and for asking questions about their treatments. I also know that in those "meetings" the patient is not allowed to see the comments and charges against them, sounds like the old Soviet Union or Nazi Germany. Yes, if you are curious, my family is from Germany.

Folks, Godwin's Law was invoked in the very first post. Any further discussion with the OP is pointless....

[sapphire18]

Folks, Godwin's Law was invoked in the very first post. Any further discussion with the OP is pointless....

I noticed that too...