Dealing with people's negative comments about nurses.

Nurses General Nursing

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When I tell people that I am a nurse or because some people know I'm a nurse, why do they feel it is ok to launch

into a tirade about their or their parents/neighbor's/friends/friend of a friends negative experience with a nurse?

While I can understand the need to vent, all the negative comments are becoming, honestly tiresome and it puts

me in an akward position. I don't know the nurse personally they are complaining about. I don't know the policies

of the hospital they are complaining about.And I certainly wasn't there in person when the problem occured.

The last time this happened, I had had a week from hell at work. I finally snapped and lost my temper and launched into my own tirade about stupid patients and families.:angthts: How do other nurses handle this problem?

I know poor nursing care exists but for crying out loud I can't control other people's actions. Should I just smile and

say,"I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but you really need to complain to the nurse involved or their immediate

supervisor because complaining to me will get you nowhere"?

Specializes in OB, Med/Surg, Ortho, ICU.
It's because Engineers don't want to admit they don't know the answer to something. "They know all"

my fiance is an engineer too and he thinks he knows everything about the medical field and what goes on in hospitals because he watches House :lol2:

All engineers? ;)

When I tell people that I am a nurse or because some people know I'm a nurse, why do they feel it is ok to launch

into a tirade about their or their parents/neighbor's/friends/friend of a friends negative experience with a nurse?

While I can understand the need to vent, all the negative comments are becoming, honestly tiresome and it puts

me in an akward position. I don't know the nurse personally they are complaining about. I don't know the policies

of the hospital they are complaining about.And I certainly wasn't there in person when the problem occured.

The last time this happened, I had had a week from hell at work. I finally snapped and lost my temper and launched into my own tirade about stupid patients and families.:angthts: How do other nurses handle this problem?

I know poor nursing care exists but for crying out loud I can't control other people's actions. Should I just smile and

say,"I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but you really need to complain to the nurse involved or their immediate

supervisor because complaining to me will get you nowhere"?

Go into my own tirade just as you did. Sometimes the last option you listed. Or use their profession and come up with a comment similar to theirs. anything . I try not care about what other people think about me ESPECIALLY in regards to being a nurse as that is JUST my job and not a core of my identity. or at least i pretend it is not.......................................

I'm a hospice nurse, and I really clench my teeth when someone (not my patients or their families), refers to me as an "angel of death." As if I the one that gives the "dreaded" morphine that "hastens" death. UGH

Seriously..??

The "angel of death".....ouch. Like you enjoy watching people die, wow!

Specializes in Float.

I find it cute that the OP mispelled awkward being that it is a word i too cannot spell without looking up. :lol2:

It's because Engineers don't want to admit they don't know the answer to something. "They know all"

my fiance is an engineer too and he thinks he knows everything about the medical field and what goes on in hospitals because he watches House :lol2:

House.....OMG.......yes, that's how hospitals really are.......aren't they?

I find it cute that the OP mispelled awkward being that it is a word i too cannot spell without looking up. :lol2:

And I didn't even catch it until someone used the word in their reply, oops!

Give them a paper and pen and tell them you need all the details, and you'll pass it on to the attorney general who will contact them.

Then they start to blather and squirm and you say I'll be right back with a notary for your signature.

Slip, slide away...........

I have honestly been tempted to ask people to repeat their complaint so I could contact the attorney

general. Oh wait.......would we then be guilty of being totally compassionless, and have our name

added to the complaint? Oh well.:lol2:

Specializes in Float.
And I didn't even catch it until someone used the word in their reply, oops!

Its one of the most commonly mispelled words and i definitely get anxious when its time to spell it! Lol.

Specializes in Intermediate care.
House.....OMG.......yes, that's how hospitals really are.......aren't they?

Yes- The Doctors do EVERYTHING. Even ambulate patients and take them to their appointments. Nurses are only there for when a patient codes. You always hear "I NEED A NURSE IN HERE"

Yes- The Doctors do EVERYTHING. Even ambulate patients and take them to their appointments. Nurses are only there for when a patient codes. You always hear "I NEED A NURSE IN HERE"

i've been known to say that i think nurses should be CNA's first. i know some people disagree with this, but lots of programs actually require it. i was talking about this with a nurse when i was still in school and she was saying she thought doctors should be nurses first because they'll go out of their way to ask a nurse about a patient's output when their foley is hanging right there (for example).

it was about a week later i saw a doctor pacing the hallway and he asked if i knew where "suzy" (the nurse) was. i told him i did and as we were walking to find her he asked if i knew about a patient's output. i told him i did about the time we found "suzy" and all "suzy" did is take ten steps over to where the patient's foley was hanging and say, "her output is 400cc's." the patient's door was open and her foley could be seen from the doorway. it was just amazing that this doctor paced the hallway 4-5 times looking for someone to answer his question instead of just looking at the bag. i think he was trained and knew to know where to look in the chart for where a patient's output would be recorded, but since the patient's output hadn't been recorded yet (bc it wasn't time) he had no clue what to do. crazy.

i've been known to say that i think nurses should be CNA's first. i know some people disagree with this, but lots of programs actually require it. i was talking about this with a nurse when i was still in school and she was saying she thought doctors should be nurses first because they'll go out of their way to ask a nurse about a patient's output when their foley is hanging right there (for example).

it was about a week later i saw a doctor pacing the hallway and he asked if i knew where "suzy" (the nurse) was. i told him i did and as we were walking to find her he asked if i knew about a patient's output. i told him i did about the time we found "suzy" and all "suzy" did is take ten steps over to where the patient's foley was hanging and say, "her output is 400cc's." the patient's door was open and her foley could be seen from the doorway. it was just amazing that this doctor paced the hallway 4-5 times looking for someone to answer his question instead of just looking at the bag. i think he was trained and knew to know where to look in the chart for where a patient's output would be recorded, but since the patient's output hadn't been recorded yet (bc it wasn't time) he had no clue what to do. crazy.

No not crazy at all. This is dependent on so many things namely

1- What time of day was it?End shift or start shift/

2. Was the pt. post surgery or neccessary to void?

3. Where there other factors to wanting to know pt.'s output?

No it wasn't crazy at all. It's a question that needed answering.

What you might have done, was also offered to see if it was something you could help with before troddling off to find, "Suzy":)

No not crazy at all. This is dependent on so many things namely

1- What time of day was it?End shift or start shift/

2. Was the pt. post surgery or neccessary to void?

3. Where there other factors to wanting to know pt.'s output?

No it wasn't crazy at all. It's a question that needed answering.

What you might have done, was also offered to see if it was something you could help with before troddling off to find, "Suzy":)

SWIIIIIIIIISH........

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