Colleagues who hate patients

[Emergent]

There are a couple of nurses I work with who seem to despise patients. One gal is exhausting to be around. They often put her in triage, she will literally give you an eye rolling negative assessment of how obnoxious the patient is, what a pathetic drug seeker, how fat, smelly, whiney, stupid, it goes on and on.

The other gal is the same. She too does triage, and will walk out of the room loudly indignant at what an appalling person she just interacted with.

Frankly, if you have such disdain for humanity, nursing is a poor choice of a career. Yes, people with poor coping skills end up in the ER more often. So what else is new? Yes, there are social ills in the world. People smoke, drink too much, eat too much, take meth, then end up in the ER.

Try to have a little emotional detachment and at least feign compassion. And, can you shut up about how awful these people are, it's tiring to hear!

[redtiger]

I have worked with all sorts of people in several environments. It is stressful to watch someone degrade people when you genuinely care. I try to remind myself that we don't get to see people at their best. So many factors deeply impact us as humans (mental illness, divorce, job loss etc.). The people who come to us are usually scared and hurting and look to us for some level of comfort. I have worked with less than compassionate people and we all have our bad days. Some people were simply not cut out for nursing.

[Irish_Mist, BSN, RN]

I'm not going to pretend for one second that I always love all of my patient interactions. Some of them are difficult. But, at the end of the day, I can't imagine NOT taking care of patients. The attitude of your colleagues is saddening and I guarantee you a lot of these patients sense their disdain. They need to find a different career if they hate people so much.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I find that when I am most stressed and pressed for time, I am more apt to be suspicious of peoples' complaints. If I have to ration resources, I develop a reason in my mind why someone deserves to wait longer. It happens automatically, and I have to consciously watch that I don't minimize or disregard real concerns. I think its a coping mechanism. The pressure of who gets the last bed when four people are in the waiting room and really need it, is a miserable responsibility. If I have lots of time, and lots of space, my attitude is rarely an issue, but those days feel few and far between sometimes.

[Beaue]

When I worked in an assistant living, I disliked the employees, but loved the residents. Most of the people working at this place were young and did not understand it's not about them but about the residents. They'd set a plate on the table for an Alzheimer resident, expecting them to feed themselves, and at the end of the meal pick up the plate even if they did not eat.... while standing beside the resident texting on their phone. This is the primary reason I despise cell phones being used at work. After working in an assistant living, I rather die than be put in one of those places. If my family puts me in one, I'll return to earth and haunt them. laughs!