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?
OK, I found NOTHING offensive in the OP's post. We all need to vent. And when you've been run ragged by an addict physically & emotionally for a coupla shifts, you need to vent.
"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."
Thank you to whoever posted this. I have had trouble taking care of other patients when their is an addict on the floor with attention seeking behaviors.
As a nurse, I get fed up. Forget therapeutic. It goes out the window when you're unable to take safe care of other patients, or care for other patients because you're so fed up, and your whole stinking day is ruined by some manipulative junkie, who you'll probably have to deal with for a couple of weeks. And they don't even have to be actively using, I've had "clean" patients who exhibit all the behaviors of addicts.
And there's no support for us nurses to work through this.
These people I complain about lack respect for nurses and NA's, they lack respect for other patients, have zero empathy. You could be coding someone, but they'll throw a fit if you're 2 minutes late with their IV dilaudid for "chronic" pain.
I'm going to stop here and not say anything else I really think before I get really flamed.
I forgot to mention the manipulative thing-OMG that is the worst!!! They are sooo sweet and kind until they don't get something right on time, and then all hell breaks loose! They sneak off the floor to smoke (and not just cigarettes) and then lay in the bed and act like they are dying minutes later, threaten to leave AMA (oh punish me) and then have their SO sneak them in more drugs to slip into their IV. Had one sneak out not to long ago and had her MOM inject heroin into her IJ, was their for an amputation d/t an abcess (dirty needle) 19 years old. We spent so much time and resources reviving her after that one, and all she did the rest of the night was scream and yell and call us ******* because we **** up her high.
Yeah these people deserve the same care and compassion as the little old grandma who is broken from head to toe (but doesn't complain at all because she knows we are busy) who they crashed into while driving their 2 ton weapon stoned out of their goard!
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.
Pffft, UNDERSTAND her enough to agree with her calling him a "creep" and a "druggie?" To me you are AGREEING with the terms she is using to vent her frustration. I can understand being upset and mad because they can be a pain, but calling him a "creep" and "druggie" is shocking to read coming from a nurse, obviously she is in the WROOONG profession. She could of vented her frustrations without belittling the poor guy, which is exactly what the OP did, as if she is way above him or something. And I can't help but to state my opinion.
BTW, I have been disrespected and treated like pure crap by a drug addict(s), but would never stoop so low by calling them degrading names especially if they were my patient(obviously we are all different and I have a hard time accepting that sometimes, but I'm working on it!)...even when I didn't KNOW it was a disease because I was so young, so I DO understand thank you very much. From an addict I've been stolen from, called names, you name it!
Pffft, UNDERSTAND her enough to agree with her calling him a "creep" and a "druggie?" To me you are AGREEING with the terms she is using to vent her frustration. I can understand being upset and mad because they can be a pain, but calling him a "creep" and "druggie" is shocking to read coming from a nurse, obviously she is in the WROOONG profession. She could of vented her frustrations without belittling the poor guy, which is exactly what the OP did, as if she is way above him or something. And I can't help but to state my opinion.
BTW, I have been disrespected and treated like pure crap by a drug addict(s), but would never stoop so low and call them degrading names especially if they were my patient!(obviously we are all different and I have a hard time accepting that sometimes, but I'm working on it!)...even when I didn't KNOW it was a disease because I was so young, so I DO understand thank you very much. From an addict I've been stolen from, called names, you name it!
And so we make it clear that we're way above her because we're so "compassionate" and "non-judgemental".
That's true; we DO need to vent. But when you vent, especially on a DISCUSSION board such as this one, it is expected that there will be feedback whether it be negative or positive. In this case, it's the fine line of what everyone believes is right or wrong.
No matter your circumstance, as a nurse you should be able to hold your ground. This isn't a matter of nursing student opinion vs. experienced nurse. Anyone who brings THAT into the argument is just being condescending to the nursing students. Us nurses learn those values in nursing school for a reason!! More experience does NOT mean that you should forget everything that you had learned. Any experienced nurse who says otherwise, is making the rest of us look bad!
Behind the curtains, you can vent all you want...but to the patient's face, absolutely NOT. I'm not judging the OP for putting up a post about feelings/experience. The real issue is how the OP treated the patient. It does not matter if the patient is ridiculously intoxicated, a psych patient, or a drug addict. We are to leave our judgmental attitudes behind us and treat the patient no matter how awful or crazy they may seem. Again, I say non-judgmental towards the PATIENT. To stand up for yourself is not your job! As a nurse, you should hold your composure and act patient...even if in all actuality they're driving you crazy. Therapeutic communication can be nonverbal as well!!!!!!
As a nurse it’s not about you…it’s about them. You don’t know their background or for why they act the way they do or why they say the things they do. For an example, had a patient who seemed rude and mean and come to found out, she had just found out that her father had died! Another example-patient seemed crazy, rude, condescending but he/she came from a family full of abuse. This patient’s father actually killed the patient’s sister in front of his/her eyes! Like I said, this career is not to be judgmental or to let emotions get in the way when face-to-face with the patient. Behind closed doors, do as you please.
Hopefully, this is a lesson learned and we can all move on from this discussion board :tbsk:
And so we make it clear that we're way above her because we're so "compassionate" and "non-judgemental".
.
I see no connection at all about us being way above her in any way according to my post. In my opinion, we are all equal and nobody is above another. You can have your halo back...I'm outta here too.
Wow, where is everyone getting the idea that people who are upset with the post feel they are better than others? The OP has put herself out there on a public forum, and people are free to agree or disagree with her viewpoints or what she says. And I don't think it's just about being a compassionate nurse, I think it's about being a compassionate person. It's one thing to not allow someone to treat you with disrespect, and it's quite another to disrespect someone back. The OP didn't come here saying that he/she made a mistake in dealing with a drug addict, or even to ask for advice in dealing with drug addicts, the OP came to share their "horror story" and ask others to share theirs. The OP seems to think it is okay to swear at patients and belittle them. And until the OP comes along and defends themselves, we can only take what we can from the information we were given.
We are expected to be respectful human beings in almost any profession involving customer service or interacting with other people. And in all of my past jobs, I've had to deal with unsavory characters who called me all sorts of names and threw things at me. I didn't swear back at them or throw something back at them, because I'm an ADULT and I have some SELF-RESTRAINT. The post would not have bothered me if the parts about "druggies" always ruining people's days or the nurse swearing and belittling the patient were left out.
I don't feel like this is a personal attack on the OP. In fact, I would like to see the OP's response to the thread.
That's true; we DO need to vent. But when you vent, especially on a DISCUSSION board such as this one, it is expected that there will be feedback whether it be negative or positive. In this case, it's the fine line of what everyone believes is right or wrong.
No matter your circumstance, as a nurse you should be able to hold your ground. This isn't a matter of nursing student opinion vs. experienced nurse. Anyone who brings THAT into the argument is just being condescending to the nursing students. Us nurses learn those values in nursing school for a reason!! More experience does NOT mean that you should forget everything that you had learned. Any experienced nurse who says otherwise, is making the rest of us look bad!
Behind the curtains, you can vent all you want...but to the patient's face, absolutely NOT. I'm not judging the OP for putting up a post about feelings/experience. The real issue is how the OP treated the patient. It does not matter if the patient is ridiculously intoxicated, a psych patient, or a drug addict. We are to leave our judgmental attitudes behind us and treat the patient no matter how awful or crazy they may seem. Again, I say non-judgmental towards the PATIENT. To stand up for yourself is not your job! As a nurse, you should hold your composure and act patient...even if in all actuality they're driving you crazy. Therapeutic communication can be nonverbal as well!!!!!!
As a nurse it's not about you...it's about them. You don't know their background or for why they act the way they do or why they say the things they do. For an example, had a patient who seemed rude and mean and come to found out, she had just found out that her father had died! Another example-patient seemed crazy, rude, condescending but he/she came from a family full of abuse. This patient's father actually killed the patient's sister in front of his/her eyes! Like I said, this career is not to be judgmental or to let emotions get in the way when face-to-face with the patient. Behind closed doors, do as you please. Hopefully, this is a lesson learned.
perhaps one may be reacting to the 'contempt' it elicits?
let's be honest here.
when a druggie is in the throes of their illness, it is mayhem for those involved, including the professionals.
a nurse who wants to vent, s/b able to do so, w/o finger-wagging or condemnation.
for those who feel compassionate, well then, do your thing.
but kindly refrain from castigating those who are only being honest with themselves, and acknowledging some very powerful feelings.
that's what druggies do.
they easily bring out the sheer frustration, the angst, the desperation (!!) of family/friends/nurses, who are products of the druggie's disease.
tough bunch to deal with.
god bless those who are drawn to this specialty.
i tip my hat to you.
leslie
eta: regardless of how i personally feel, i treat ea and every pt equally and professionally.
i agree with pretty much everything you say, but i think that people who disagree with this sort of treatment of patients should be free to voice their feelings as well. i especially agree with the portion i highlighted. :redpinkhe
Thanks, Allison, for your post. That was such a touching story - sometimes some of the most difficult patients end up being one of the ones who grab your heart and don't let go.
I am also a nurse and in recovery. I am actually celebrating my 10 years of sobriety today and wile reading your post, I caught myself going back to thoughts about my journey so far through recovery. I remember arriving at the treatment facility - and I really feel for the counselors - I would have not wanted to take care of a patient that acted the way I was at that time.
One phrase that my counselor, her name was "Killer", and she had it tattooed on her arm next to a syringe, used when talking to me not long after I arrived was "Don't bull ____ a bull _____er!"
Allison - one patient that I cared for about a yr into my recovery was a lady with just about every chronic condition you could have, or so it seems. COPD, DM, ESRD, HIV, PVD, and the list went on and on. She was one that would have food smuggled in that she couldn't have according to her diet. For a while her MD allowed her to smoke, until her narcotic usage got bad enough that she started falling asleep sitting up in her W/C with a lit cigarette. She had been an addict for 20 yrs or so, and had been on the street working to earn money for her narcs. Her family disowned her and she just really went downhill after she lost the support of her family.
Thank God I was not at work when she rode out in her w/c telling the staff she was riding to sit out in the sun on the porch, which she was allowed to do. She rode around the side of the facility and into the parking lot and ended up falling and ended up with a subdural hematoma. She was transported to the ER of the closest hospital and never recovered from her fall. Just really sad, she was one that would really treat the staff, MDs, everyone horribly, and no family, no friends, just her cigarettes and her meds, as she had put it one day prior to her death.
At the time I found out what had happened, it just really made me take a closer look at myself, as an addict and also as a nurse caring for patients which could be difficult. It made me realize that sometimes the front that a patient like that could put up is just a smokescreen and to try not to judge them by some behaviors that they show us.
Thanks, Allison, for your posting today that helped me reflect back through some of those times.
:yeah:
07302003, ASN, RN
142 Posts
OK, I found NOTHING offensive in the OP's post. We all need to vent. And when you've been run ragged by an addict physically & emotionally for a coupla shifts, you need to vent.
"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."
Thank you to whoever posted this. I have had trouble taking care of other patients when their is an addict on the floor with attention seeking behaviors.
As a nurse, I get fed up. Forget therapeutic. It goes out the window when you're unable to take safe care of other patients, or care for other patients because you're so fed up, and your whole stinking day is ruined by some manipulative junkie, who you'll probably have to deal with for a couple of weeks. And they don't even have to be actively using, I've had "clean" patients who exhibit all the behaviors of addicts.
And there's no support for us nurses to work through this.
These people I complain about lack respect for nurses and NA's, they lack respect for other patients, have zero empathy. You could be coding someone, but they'll throw a fit if you're 2 minutes late with their IV dilaudid for "chronic" pain.
I'm going to stop here and not say anything else I really think before I get really flamed.