Published
So... how bad was it?
And while you are at it, ever BEEN a patient? How bad were you?
:chuckle
Com'on... be honest!
oh gross!!! i know that it was probably clean before he put the beer into the urinal, but just the thought of drinking beer (or anything else for that matter) from a urinal... ewww... just...ewwww!!!
i betcha you guys started wondering when he became unusually protective of his urinal and wouldn't let you empty it. :)
nooo, it was an actual can of beer hidden in a used urinal. the urinal had about 60cc of urine in it and a can of beer. he was hiding it from us. yuck.
If vet techs are going to refer to themselves as nurses (my vet's techs do) then they should know what Tequin is. :chuckle Did she insist you use the round thing to clip Mom's nails? Did she bring a wire brush to do Mom's hair? Did she suggest using liver flavored toothpaste to do Mom's oral care? Heh...
LOL!! No, but she did insist I take mom for a walk around the halls:rotfl:
I've had two good experiences. While working as a CNA in a LTC, one of my regular patients, who suffered from Alzheimer's, was a nurse. During her lucid moments, she enjoyed listening to my school experiences and what I was learning (I'm an LPN student).
Also, in clinicals, I took care of a post-surgical client who was an RN. She was also very helpful in talking to me about the nursing profession. A number of mistakes were made in her care (e.g., doctor punctured an artery when placing a picc line; nurse reported dressing was changed when it wasn't; wrong medication given that caused an allergic reaction) The RN client (In my classes, we're taught to say client vs patient) was not angry, but very frustrated. She pointed out all these things out to me in an instructional and cautionary manner. She also explained to me some interesting facts about one of her conditions and encouraged me to do further research, which I did. I learned a lot from her. (I think she was not more angry or assertive about the errors because of the emotional stress she was undergoing from personal matters)
I was also an emergency room patient a few months ago. I think I was nice, but I was very inquisitive. The staff "understood" as I explained to them that I was a nursing student.
I've cared for many medical professionals as an L&D/mother-baby nurse, and without fail, the message from every doctor & nurse was "don't assume I know how to take care of myself/take care of my baby just because I'm a (doctor, nurse, etc)". Mostly I cared for nurses and docs from other fields, but we also had several of our own nurses, 2 of our OBs, a CNM and one of our peds deliver on our floor in the time I worked there. I always made an effort to make sure the care I offered these patients was no different from the care I gave anyone else.
One of my favorites though was when I had one of the vets I bring my dogs to in labor and postpartum. She was so scared of giving birth and caring for a HUMAN baby. She could do an emergency c-section on a guinea pig without blinking, and helped save my littlest dog's life when a respiratory infection overwhelmed his 1.5 pound body as a puppy, but she had never held a baby! I think she was afraid that people would assume that as a well-educated professional she would know what to do.
Many of both, two most memorable.
The retired MD had pretty advanced Alzheimer's and was with us post MI. We had to keep preventing him from "painting" with stool he had dug out of his rectum (or cleaning him up). Really sad.
The RN was in her 30's with three small children, had been a nurse manager, had severe neurological degeneration, was in apparent great pain and was unable to speak. However, she was alert and from the way she watched me, totally aware. All meds were via GT. She must have felt so defenseless. I did make a point of making eye contact, explaining to her what (crushed) meds I was administering and why, and trying to elicit alternitive forms of communication from her so we could assess her pain, etc. Also sad; there but for fortune...
...We have a doctor who is very prim & proper who was in with a lumbar lam. When the nurses helped him up he just flung the gown up out of the way and exposed his front side and then getting up exposed his back side. The nurses who had him said he didn't seem the least bit concerned or embarrassed about exposing himself. Since his surgery he's just as prim & proper as ever. Strange.......
I am not a healthcare worker, but can relate to the doctor. When I called the squad on myself in 2003, I chose to lie naked on the floor, since I was unable to clean myself up. I knew the squad would not mind, and my modesty was less important than ruining an old bathrobe.
I was naked the entire time I was in the ER Department, and like the experience with the squad, after I got over the initial embarrassment, I found it to be an interesting new experience. The bed bath in the ICU was fascinating, and I was grateful. Changing my gown and pajama bottoms while standing next to another nurse the next day was also interesting.
However, once I was back in the real world, I continued my old habits. I still do not go out in public without a shirt, nor do I do this at home. If I ever wanted to learn how to swim, I would be most comfortable in one of those old-fashioned bathing suits that have long sleeves and go down to the knees.:chuckle
Michael
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
Have had several nurses as patients before on the PP unit...usually no big deal but one who worked at my same hospital tried to convince me to leave her meds at the bedside and when i wouldnt she started questioning me..."how long have you been a nurse? well, after 10 years you'll start leaving them...you wait and see..."
I guess NCLEX stress, licensing fees, not seeing my family for 5 years, getting up for clinicals at 4:00am etc etc etc wasnt worth keeping that RN license to her...but it is to me!
i've had quite a few mds and rns for patients, but the one that stands out in my memory is one i took care of as a student. she was in ltc and she had ms. she was 49 and i was 39. it was painful for both of us because she remembered and could relate her experiences as a student nurse, reminiscing about all the things she did. for me, it was painful because we were so close in age, and several times i had to re-learn how to maintain a therapeutic relationship with my patient. it was hard for me to let go and move on to my next assignment. i'll never forget her.
Most medical-minded patients I've taken care of haven't been bad at all. However, we recently had a doctor (and her family) who was the most demanding patient ever. After she no longer required ICU care, she 'had' to stay in our unit because she wouldn't get the care she needed on the floor. When she was re-admitted from rehab (don't remember why), she had to be in our unit so she could 'get the proper care' (she wasn't even an ICU patient!!!! - but that's a whole other story!) She very quickly became a 'community' patient as we each seemed to have limited patience with her.
Bipley
845 Posts
If vet techs are going to refer to themselves as nurses (my vet's techs do) then they should know what Tequin is. :chuckle Did she insist you use the round thing to clip Mom's nails? Did she bring a wire brush to do Mom's hair? Did she suggest using liver flavored toothpaste to do Mom's oral care? Heh...