Before you make fun of a patient, make sure they can't see you.

[Jo Dirt]

Well, my mother is in the hospital on med. surg.. I know she suffers from hypochondriasis and is driving everyone batty with all the dramatics and whining and carrying on she is doing (frankly, I'm glad I don't have to be there to hear it right now) but the night she came in she said she had a seizure (I know her potassium was very low but I don't know if it was a seizure as much as a result of the panic and anxiety). Anyway, her arm flopped over her head and her neck bent to one side and she was jerking around.

When it was time for shift change both the nurses were in the room and when they stepped outside she heard laughing and through the crack in the door she saw the offgoing nurse with her arm over her head and her neck bent and flopping around like my mother had done.

Uh oh...

When the other nurse stepped back in the room my mother told her you can tell that other nurse I saw what she was doing, she may as well have stayed in here and done it.

It's nothing to write the hospital administrator over, but I'm sure it made for an embarrassing moment for all involved.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I think it would be nothing but appropriate to report that to the administrator........that nurse should be addressed. But to call the TV stations and newspapers, even a lawyer is RIDICULOUS...We ALL have bad days

Bingo! I agree. This occurrence should be reported to management, because it is a patient care issue. However, bringing it to the attention of the media and an attorney is, in my opinion, utterly ridiculous and rather draconian.

[leslie :-D]

i laughed when i read puggymae's post.

i envisioned a lol with a lot of spunk.

i didn't take puggy's post literally.

if i did, then 4'9 mom shouldn't beat the dickens out of those nurses.:chuckle

i interpreted the post to mean that mom wouldn't tolerate such insensitivity.

of course i could be wrong.

but i enjoyed the post, nevertheless.

leslie

[zooz]

One major problem with today's society is that we're too lawsuit-happy and litigious. Of course, this is just my humble opinion.

Legal action is not necessary in all situations. It is time for people to stop looking for ways in which they'll make a quick dollar.

I happen to share that humble opinion.

I, as implied previously, think it was an awful thing to do. But since when does every single thing warrant a lawsuit? It lowers the meaning of any lawsuits that actually deserve to be in court. (And don't even get me started on the cost of frivolous lawsuits.)

I think this type of situation needs to be taken up with administration/management. Let them deal with it -- it certainly doesn't belong in court.

[flashpoint]

I think a lot of us have "made fun" of patients when we shouldn't have. It's not really right, it's not nice, it's not professional,but plenty of us have done it to blow off steam or vent frustration. Any time we feel the need to go off about a patient, we need to make sure that certain people aren't around. I think that the OP's mom's comments are far more effective in knocking the nurse down a peg or two than any converstation or discipline she might have from her supervisors.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I am not miss perfect either...but think a rebuke from a supervisor would have kept me in line.

[Mommy2NQ]

That is a terrible situation for your mom. I hope she is doing better now. After i had given birth to my second child I had overheard a nurse and pediatrician making comments about a few women on the floor (one was me)were not breastfeeding their babies and choosing formula instead. The doctor acted like it was terrible for us to choose that option. A few other comments were then made between the two. I had felt like a bad mom then. I know breastfeeding is the best option but some women including myself decided against it. They did not know I heard them but they could have been a little nicer about it. That is my opinion. I hope the nurse that did that to your mom learns her lesson too.

[mbrn1]

This is unacceptable behavior by anyone much less a caregiver. For someone to act in this manner in front of a patient is not right on many levels. Regardless of whether or not your mother is dramatic, this behavior is a poor representation of the nursing profession. I would report this to the nurse manager ASAP, the acceptance of this behavior helps in making all nurses look bad.

[mbrn1]

Sorry for the two reply's, I just read the second page of responses. I agree that it is silly to discuss lawsuits and newspapers regarding this situation. Our society is "sue happy" and as most of us know, this has hurt the mdical profession (and made many of our jobs harder with useless paperwork that takes us away from the bedside). That being said, it is still not acceptable to act this way in front of a patient, family etc. Of course we have all vented, our jobs are difficult (physically and emotionally). I have had many "venting" sessions with fellow staff, however there is a time and a place for venting. Also, making fun of a patient in front of their room is not really venting, it is selfish and hurtful (which is obvious considering this entire forum). No matter how bad our shift is, we get to leave the hospital (even if it is only for 12hrs!). Too many of us forget that.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

uh oh...

when the other nurse stepped back in the room my mother told her you can tell that other nurse i saw what she was doing, she may as well have stayed in here and done it.

it's nothing to write the hospital administrator over, but i'm sure it made for an embarrassing moment for all involved.

and i think that embarrassing moment is probably all the rebuke those nurses need. they weren't making fun of your mother in front of her -- although they should have been a lot more circumspect about where they were making fun of her.

we all have bad days and we are all guilty of venting about our patients, especially some of the more dramatic, whiney and difficult among them. the hope is that nobody does so where a patient or family member can see them, but sometimes we all slip up.

years ago, my friend and i were discussing a soap opera outside a patient's room. (it was during the robin/stone aids story line for those of you who watch general hospital.) we were talking about robin's hiv testing and speculating that it would be positive because her boyfriend stone was dying of aids. the patient's wife came storming out of the room, shouting at us about how dare we discuss a patient's hiv status openly like that and how dare we make judgements about their personal lives. (i guess we were a little judgemental about stone sleeping with iv drug abusers without benefit of a condom, and without informing robin about it before she chose to sleep with him. but if you can't judge soap opera characters, who can you judge?) my friend slunk off and left me to deal with the woman, who went on to have a complete hissy fit. she wouldn't believe me when i protested that we were only talking about a tv show -- she called me a liar. then she called the patient's doctor (who did believe me and thought the whole thing was funny), the nursing supervisor and my manager. i wound up in the manager's office, trying to explain the situation to her, and that woman was hostile to me for the rest of her husband's 3 month stay. furthermore, she sat out in the waiting room and talked about how indiscreet and judgemental i was to the other families and many of them were hostile to me as well. i nearly quit my job over that incident! and it wasn't anything i had done wrong, but the patient's family member's perception that i had done something wrong.

i think we need to be careful about starting things without having all the facts. not saying that you don't have all the facts -- but i'd hesitate to get management involved unless it happens again. those two nurses have probably had all the reprimand they need!

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

what a horrible degrading thing that nurse did. i am sorry that nurse was so rude. that drives me crazy when people do that. it is so disrespectful it makes me sick. i would of said something to her. grrrrr

[CHATSDALE]

i have tourettes sx and i have had a lot ridicule because of facial expressions etc which ae beyound by capabilities to prevent them

i have insulted by perfect strangers but i can tell you fellow nurses are the worse

[mbbysea]

Cheers to your Mom for calling the nurse out on her behavior! Hope she is doing well.

MB