I will start off by explaining that I am a nursing student. I got into nursing because I love to work hard, work on my feet, be challenged, and most importantly help others. I am planning a trip to India to volunteer at an HIV clinic, because for me it’s not about money, It’s about helping others and giving them support when the need it the most.
This weekend, a close friend of mine assaulted me. I had no idea that would happen, and it was emotionally traumatizing. I called the police, but 15 minutes later they still had not arrived. I asked my friend to drive me to the hospital because I was having vision disturbances and vertigo, and I was worried about having major head trauma.
My friend dropped me off and went back to her house to wait for the police and tell them where we were. I was alone, and taken back immediately because of my facial contusions and bleeding from my nose. The nurse who greeted me was unpleasant to say the least. The first thing out of her mouth was “Why did you let this happen? Why did they do this to you?” She began to lecture me, as I sat bleeding, dizzy, and unable to see about making better friends.
I don’t do drugs, I don’t hang out with “shady” people, this isn’t something I ever foresaw happening to me. No one who knew this person thought in a million years he would assault me. A minute later I went to the bathroom and I forgot where I was. I was extremely dizzy and began to panic. I walked out into the hallway, walked up to a staff member and said “I need help, something is wrong with me, I don’t know where I am” She shouted at me to go back to my room. I didn’t know where “my room” was, so I stood there “I can’t breathe” I said. I was having a panic attack.
She took me back to my room and said “You are in the hospital. There is nothing wrong with you. The doctor will come in to evaluate you soon. Take this” and handed me two pills. I asked what they were and she said “Calm down, Just take it!” and left the room.
5 minutes later, two nurses had an argument outside my room about one nurse who “had an attitude” they began to curse at each other, shouting about some other situation, not taking into consideration there was a terrified victim of assault three feet away, hearing all of this.
Maybe my friend should have stayed with me, but she left because she wanted to police to know where I was. She came right back with them about a half hour later. The nurse acted like my friend dropped me off and left me there because she had no respect for me. She acted like I did this to myself, telling me I needed a “new group of friends”
Just this experience is making me think maybe I don’t want to go into nursing. If I had been working, I would have told that nurse to calm down, and to talk to the patient like a person. She had no idea what my situation was, and yet she chose to lecture me when I was scared and vulnerable. The nurses fighting outside my room was just totally unprofessional. I had no idea someone who worked so hard to get this degree would act like that. I feel like if these are going to be my coworkers, then I don’t want to be in this field. I guess what I am hoping for is for someone to tell me not all hospital envoirnments are like that, and that we are allowed to be nice and caring to our patients. I don’t want to become bitter and unpleasant, like these nurses were. This whole experience was so humiliating; I wish I could have been treated with compassion.
