advice from nurses- patient unfair to tech

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I need words of advice from nurses. I'm working as a nursing assistant in the float department while going to nursing school. I have worked in this hospital for 5 years and I have always heard compliments from staff and patients. I am not trying to brag about myself but I always go out of my way, go the extra mile to work as a team player and to help out the patients as much I can. Since I am in the float department, I got floated to work in the ER. The hospital I work for is a very busy hospital, especially the ER. The patients are on stretchers in the hallways.

A few days ago, I worked in the ER. A few of the patients were transported to the area in the ER where I was from another ER area. I went around to take vitals for 16 patients. And then an hour later, I offered a chair for a lady that was standing. That lady yells at me to come over and turns to her husband (the patient) and asks him if I was the one. That patients tells her that I was the one. I was confused. That patient's wife yells at me asking if I told her husband, "to get over it because he's in the hallway." I told her I never said that. And she yells at me saying well you know what?? I belive my husband. I go and get the nurse and we both walk over to the patient. She's really upset and tells her that I told the patient to get over it. She says, "my husband has MS, but he's not confused. how dare you tell him to get over it?" she yells at the nurse asking why he's in the hallway too.

We walk away and I tell the nurse and other nurses I never said that to him nor would i ever ever say such a thing. They all backed me up saying they know I would never say such a thing because they have worked with me many times. They had to call patient services to calm them down. they kept complaining to other staff about me, asking for the ER charge nurse. I told the charge nurse I never said it, and he also told me he knows I would never because I have worked with him too.

I didn't even go on my lunch break and I stayed away from that patient. I was just so upset. I went to the bathroom and cried too. That patient came in for detoriating mental status with diagnosis of MS that started 3 months ago. and that wife tells me her husband is not confused? I tried to let it go.. but it just really upset me.

It's not like I don't go to the ER again because I get sent there. I try holding my head up high, but it still upsets me.

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Sorry to read about your unpleasant experience. In the ED you are often seeing patients and families on what is possibly the worst day of their lives. They are scared, confused, and in physical and emotional pain. It's a normal reaction for patients and family members to lash out at people around them who have done nothing wrong. There's literally nothing you can do to completely prevent it. I've had family members screaming in my face one minute, crying on my shoulder the next, and thanking me the next. Just keep your head up and keep doing the best job you can, with a balanced mix of compassion, empathy, and clinical detachment.

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Specializes in Critical care.

This can happen all over the hospital. I was once interrogated and slammed by a patient's mother (patient was in her 40's) because we weren't answering the call bell- the call bell the patient refused to ring! Plus the patient had a painful rash from refusing to ring for help when she needed to use the bedpan. We were in the room at least every hour or so cleaning and turning/repositioning the patient and I was slathering on barrier cream to protect the skin (pt came to my unit with the rash). I felt like saying and your daughter has a history of telling the truth?

It stinks, but it happens. Keep your chin up and know you are providing great care. You just have to ignore it as hard as it can be.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Sometimes people are just jerks. Be glad you don't live their miserable existence where the high point of their week was to lie repeatedly about an innocent tech.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

You work in one hospital for 5 years and this is the first jerk you'd encountered so far? Consider yourself exceptionally lucky then. I guess it sounds like to win a million-dollars lottery ticket in terms of probability.

Fortunately or not, you'll meet many more people like that more times in the future then you'll be ever care for. Thankless, lying, demeaning, aggressive, rasistic, humiliating, just plain stupid. Sometimes it happens because they are at the end of their tether and attack any moving thing around for any reason just out of sheer desperation, sometimes it is just what they really are. It worths sometimes to evaluate for a reason of this behaviors. They likely won't notice if you go one mile above or ten for them, but your colleagues who soon will be stuck with them probably for days will, without doubts, highly appreciate your early warning. Otherwise, keep calm, professional and just do your job, that's everything you are able to do as a human being. If you become really frustrated and angry, either give yourself a 15-min break or just directly ask for changing assignment. We all had, and have, patients with whom we just feel VERY uncomfortable for whatever reason, and changing assignment in such case usually brings relief for both sides involved.

I do not give an old advice for "not taking things personally" because, for the life of mine, I do not know how to do it.

You were very lucky that nurses supported you and believed you and not pointless allegations. Trust me, it is not so common in our days of "customer 110% satisfaction". I once was accused by a patient of being an illegal immigrant, and the creature named "Nurse manager" ran out of the room in order to Google and obligingly provide the patient with State Immigration Service hotline. She later named it "just an example of good customer service" and told me to "not take it personally because it will lead to nothing anyway". She definitely not counted my humiliating as something more significant than "nothing".

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You were very lucky that nurses supported you and believed you and not pointless allegations. Trust me, it is not so common in our days of "customer 110% satisfaction". I once was accused by a patient of being an illegal immigrant, and the creature named "Nurse manager" ran out of the room in order to Google and obligingly provide the patient with State Immigration Service hotline. She later named it "just an example of good customer service" and told me to "not take it personally because it will lead to nothing anyway". She definitely not counted my humiliating as something more significant than "nothing".

My lord, that has to be one of the most ****ed up things I've ever heard of someone doing in the name of 'customer service.' I would have been livid and probably not very professional if I had been in your shoes.

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

It happens. People under stress do strange things. None of your coworkers doubted you so all good.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.
My lord, that has to be one of the most ****ed up things I've ever heard of someone doing in the name of 'customer service.' I would have been livid and probably not very professional if I had been in your shoes.

Well, it so happened that she thus served the "customer" with the perfect means to be involved in federal level lawsuit and found to be guilty of felony. One may feel free to yell on a nurse, but it is better to be very polite with any federal goverment worker. :up:

As we used to say in my homeland, it is not a good idea to take an idiot to church because everything that will happen is he hits his forehead all bloody while praying.

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I had the mother of a patient come in and scream at me the other day because her son is still not "cured". Her son has schizophrenia and I tried to explain how we are managing his symptoms but as of yet, there is no cure. She screamed that I was an incompetent nurse in front of everybody. So I feel you. Part of me wanted to tell her to "go take him home and let us know if you do a better job." But I kept my mouth shut and continued to take care of the other residents and let it just slide off my back. I am a bit lucky as I work psyche and these patients barely get family visits which is pretty sad. much different than when I worked at a home where the residents were elderly and family members were in and out. I had to deal with the above all the time. At my new job, it's once in a great while. Hopefully for you what you experienced won't be often. My Adon had my back and warned me of certain family members of our residents. We all have to deal with them and luckily for you, your coworkers have your back too.

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You cant let stuff like that get to you or you will have a miserable time in nursing. You stated that the patient had declining mental function, it can be hard for family members to accept changes like that and stay in denial. Confused patients and psych patients say the craziest and rudest things at times but nobody should take that personally. All of your coworkers knew you did not say that so dont dwell on it, you are going to have hiccups every shift in nursing and how you handle them will determine your happiness and satisfaction with your career.

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