ETOH/heroin/cocaine=GOOD times!! :)

Nurses General Nursing

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So besides the fact that most are absolutely charming... Drug addicts annoy me to no end. When you're just minding your business, trying to enjoy your day, a druggie will always find a way to add a negative note. Despite Ativan and Clonidine sometimes methodone and morphine and orange juice and hot breakfast and a warm bed and a friendly hello and a whole staff of people (almost) genuinely concerned for their well-being, some are dead set on being negative rude and hostile. Here's an example from the other day.

Druggie: "how do you sleep at night inflicting so much pain on people every day (heparin shot)

Nurse: "oh I sleep quite well, actually"

Druggie: "yeah I know you secretly like to cause pain... You crazy, you just mean!"

Nurse: "aren't we all a little crazy, mr. dupayash- not to get too philosophical, with it being 7:30 am and all."

Druggie: "well I don't need that **** anyway"

Nurse: "why cause you're going to leave AMA?"

Druggie: "yes"

Nurse: "okay I'll get your paper- and give me my **** heart monitor back, you won't be able to sell that on the street"

Druggie: You aint nothin but a nurse. Get my doctor in here, I need to talk to him.

As the druggie coughs and spits sputum into his basin and throws his heart monitor on top, I am wondering (as I'm disinfecting the contaminated monitor) what the hell I am doing with this creep. Oh later the druggie came back, accused me of stealing his money, and got so out of control we had to call security. So what is your craziest/most annoying drug addict?

I think some of you guys are being a little harsh towards the OP. After all she is VENTING, and this is should be a safe place to do it.

It is funny, there are always some students on here (for example "RN2be") who just love to get on their high horse and tell an RN he/she is mean or should use "socially correct language," or generallly bashes EXPERIENCED nurses. As the saying goes.....walk a mile in their shoes.......

I totally understand the OPs frustration in dealing with these types of patients.....They will lie to you, try to manipulate you, sneak off the floor, make false accusations about you, place impossible demands on you, and generally make your shift miserable. The pt in the room next door will be literally about to DIE of cancer and you cant give them the extra attention they deserve because the drug addict/seeker will demand so much of your time.

I had a heroin user (in with MRSA abcess in his arm) tell me while he was in the hospital I was his "*****" because he was "paying my salary" and I had better "warm his breakfast up RIGHT this time"

This type of stuff is soul sucking.....It just wears on you......

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Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.

The OP's post was unprofessional and demonstrates an extremely judgemental attitude. The term 'druggy' is insulting and 'i'm wondering what the hell I'm doing with this creep', 'give me that back before you sell it on the streets' is just disgusting.

Congratulations I hope your proud of yourself. Instead of potentially encouraging someone with a drug addiction to seek help and trust in health care professionals to treat them like human beings, you've probably turned them away. Try not to dislocate your shoulder patting yourself on the back.

I get frustrated with confronted with drug addiction, but I would never adopt such an unprofessional and disinterested attitude. I had a partner 10 years ago who is addicted to IV drugs and will probably never lead a fulfilling life now and would probably sell his own mother if there was something in it for him. But I would never allow my own personal experiences to cloud my judgement.

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Specializes in LTC.

I am truly in SHOCK that you EXPERIENCED nurses agree with this post. This is truly disturbing and scary! I want to run and cry!!!! How disgusting.

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Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.
I think some of you guys are being a little harsh towards the OP. After all she is VENTING, and this is should be a safe place to do it.

It is funny, there are always some students on here (for example "RN2be") who just love to get on their high horse and tell an RN he/she is mean or should use "socially correct language," or generallly bashes EXPERIENCED nurses. As the saying goes.....walk a mile in their shoes.......

......

Oh please. Nursing students WILL judge us whether we like it or not. Nursing is not a vacuum on compassion, communication and interaction. And also, we're supposed to be role models remember?

I like a good vent thread as well. But this seemed to be more than venting. If the OP had said, wow I had a patient with a drug addiction today, so frustrating because they were so negative about everything. Any ideas? Is one thing, but their post was full of contempt and ridicule.

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I don't think us EXPERIENCED nurses necessarly "agree" with the way the OP spoke to the pt.....just that I at least can UNDERSTAND her frustration. If you have ever been treated like pure crap by one (or many) of these types of pts you would understand too. It is not disgusting its real life....try not to run and cry.

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Specializes in OR.

Zofran ..... I have plenty experience in this realm because I have walked the walk and talked the talk. So please stop your Oh shes a student there for KNOWS NOTHING !

My brother was an addict and I grew with it and its a disease and should be treated as if the patient was terminally ill because this disease does kill many. Show a little compassion and maybe they will treat you with respect that you WANT so badly because you think you deserve it . You deserve NOTHING from patients you are the caregiver they are the patient / receiver .

So referring to someone who is "druggie" is disrespectful and unprofessional !!!!

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oh please. nursing students will judge us whether we like it or not. nursing is not a vacuum on compassion, communication and interaction. and also, we're supposed to be role models remember?

i like a good vent thread as well. but this seemed to be more than venting. if the op had said, wow i had a patient with a drug addiction today, so frustrating because they were so negative about everything. any ideas? is one thing, but their post was full of contempt and ridicule.

:yeahthat: i am a student as well, and i hope that i never have the same jaded, cynical attitude as some of these more "experienced nurses". i get that dealing with certain people is difficult, but that does not excuse this type of behavior in "professionals".

p.s. just because someone is a "student" doesn't mean they don't have experience with addicts.

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Specializes in LTC.
try not to run and cry.

ok I won't:D

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Specializes in OR.

The OP will fail because she feels she is owed respect from patients and unfortunately that will not always be the case . In life you show people how you want ot be treated if you serve up a LOAD of BS then expect the same thing back .

Zofran - Ignorance must be bliss!

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Specializes in Hospice.

But if it takes running and crying to be able to walk back into the room and take good professional care of the patient as he is, then by all means, find a way to do it.

And I didn't say that I "agree" with the feelings expressed in the OP. Emotional responses are like the weather ... we don't get to control whether we feel angry, hurt, humiliated or happy, so the concept of agreement is meaningless.

It is a normal and healthy human response to get hurt, then angry when one is being abused ... you can't control that and it is damaging to try. Add in the mechanisms of transference and counter-transference and you have a real Gordian knot to unravel.

What you can control is how you behave ... and it's not clear from the OP whether what she described is what she actually did or just what she fantasized about doing.

The point I've been trying to make since my first post in this thread is that it takes experience, knowledge and insight into one's own "hot buttons" to be able to deal with behaviors common to addiction with any equanimity.

Piling guilt and opprobrium on someone who is probably struggling to do a good job is an ineffective way to promote that.

We'll likely never know why the OP posted what she did ... maybe you all are right and she just wanted to start a "let's trash the junkies" thread ... I notice she hasn't been back to say.

Edited to add: lets not break any arms patting ourselves on the back about how "compassionate" we are, either.

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Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.

Did I miss it, or is the little "X box" still alive and well at the top of the page? I totally get where the OP is coming from, and not only was I an RN for 7 years, I'm an NP now, and ain't much changed. These people wear on your very soul.

To those who slammed the OP, if these posts are evidence of how "compassionate" you all are, Heaven help us all. It's called ignoring it if you don't agree with it. She was venting, and if you came on here to do the same, I would hazard a guess you'd feel pretty upset if everyone jumped you and questioned everything from your career choice to your moral character. That little X is right where it always is, and it works great.

To the OP, the use of the words druggie and creep will get you slammed in a heartbeat, appropriate though they may be. Don't sweat it. No one on here's perfect, and some of those patients make you want to wring their neck. Hang in there, and PM me if you want to commiserate with a truly non-judgemental sounding board.

Take care of yourself.

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Specializes in ED/trauma.

Let's please remember that this is a place where nurses should feel free to vent their frustrations and should not be judged. And I don't think we need to bring in all of the "my loved on is a drug addict so you offended me" stuff. All most all of us have been touched in some way or another by addiction.

And to the OP, I feel your frustration! While I do agree that addiction is an illness (to some extent). I also know that "druggies" are very rude, manipulative, selfish, and just plain nasty. It is rare that the non compliant diabetic or heart patient calls me a worthless *****, a piece of ****, and tells me that they are gonna rape and murder me in the parking lot (and sometimes tries to come back with their weapon), it is however almostly nightly that these poor, sick, defensless, drug addicts threaten me and treat me this way while I am trying to save their life or don't give them their dilaudid quick enough.

One actually told me he had a court date coming up because he had tried to sell his baby at Walgreen's for a speedball.

While these people are ill, there is absolutely no reason why they should be allowed to talk rudely and treat nurses like crap. I won't allow it from anyone, and it is almost always addicts who do this, even extremely mentally ill schizophenic patients generally don't treat nurses the way drug addicts do.

And as far as all of that "theraputic communication" mumbo jumbo-please come work a shift in my ER-just one, and see how many times you let one of these guys tell you to (fill in the most horrible sexual act you can think of), and call you a filthy *****, I guaruntee you won't be asking him to share his feelings with you so you help him to feel better about himself!

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