From nurse to patient

StrwbryblndRN · Feb 11, 2017

I don't think so. I find nurses to be very understanding as patients. They do not push but will question if the need arises. It is usually the patients that say they work in a medical setting (not as a nurse) who tend to be critical. Of course I am generalizing and not the case every time.

Sour Lemon · Feb 11, 2017

It is usually the patients that say they work in a medical setting (not as a nurse) who tend to be critical.

Agreed. And "medical setting" could be anything from hospital janitor to gift shop cashier.

Cginns · Feb 11, 2017

I asked that question because as a one month out new nursing grad being admitted for preeclampsia @34wks, I feel that my quality of care is poor. From asking to be informed on my labs (basic PIH work up and UA labs) and being told that it is out of the nurses scope to disclose them to me, to requesting something prn for HAs and being ignored for 12hrs. After waiting 2 days to speak with any doctor, I ask her for my results and the doctor replies that she can't talk because she has a sore throat. Once I finally couldn't take it anymore and spoke up to the charge nurse, meds were called in within 30mins and a nurse gladly reviewed all of my labs with me. I'm wondering if I'm being needy for expecting the type of patient centered care that we as nurses learn in school.

Sour Lemon · Feb 11, 2017

I asked that question because as a one month out new nursing grad being admitted for preeclampsia @34wks, I feel that my quality of care is poor. From asking to be informed on my labs (basic PIH work up and UA labs) and being told that it is out of the nurses scope to disclose them to me, to requesting something prn for HAs and being ignored for 12hrs. After waiting 2 days to speak with any doctor, I ask her for my results and the doctor replies that she can't talk because she has a sore throat. Once I finally couldn't take it anymore and spoke up to the charge nurse, meds were called in within 30mins and a nurse gladly reviewed all of my labs with me. I'm wondering if I'm being needy for expecting the type of patient centered care that we as nurses learn in school.

I typically don't go over/interpret labs with patients except as reinforcement after the doctor has already spoken to their patient ...or in some cases, if the results are expected and the doctor has given permission to discuss them.

It actually sounds like your issues were more with your doctor and your nurse was stuck in the middle. I wonder if he or she did call for orders and was ignored or told NO.

Are you working as a nurse yet? I do find that nursing students are likely to be critical because they have only experienced a perfect NCLEX world. It doesn't sound like you were being unreasonable, though.

Cginns · Feb 12, 2017

No.. I just graduated this December @7 months pregnant. I was wondering if I was being too critical for expecting the type of care that we are taught in school vs what is actually given in the real world. As a new nurse, I just hope that I am consistently giving the best care possible to my patients.

I'm actually still in the hospital now with a BP of 182/99 so I'm trying my best to stay as positive and understanding as possible. After all, I will be delivering here and I would like to have a pleasant experience.

Thanks.

Sour Lemon · Feb 12, 2017

No.. I just graduated this December @7 months pregnant. I was wondering if I was being too critical for expecting the type of care that we are taught in school vs what is actually given in the real world. As a new nurse, I just hope that I am consistently giving the best care possible to my patients.
I'm actually still in the hospital now with a BP of 182/99 so I'm trying my best to stay as positive and understanding as possible. After all, I will be delivering here and I would like to have a pleasant experience.
Thanks.

I don't blame you for being anxious after no communication for two days. It sounds like the change nurse may have gotten an OK to review labs with you ...or possibly contacted an alternate provider if your assigned MD was not available/helpful.

Looking in from the outside, it seems that your primary nurse is probably innocent ...they could have escalated the situation up the chain of command themselves, but may not have realized how upset you were becoming.

I wish you a safe delivery!

IrishCMSRN, BSN, RN · Feb 13, 2017

OMG Honestly, anytime we had a patient who was also a nurse we would cringe to take care of them....draw straws. Alot of great nurse out there but sadly also a lot of not so nice ones......

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Feb 13, 2017

I'm wondering if I'm being needy for expecting the type of patient centered care that we as nurses learn in school.

In my personal experience, run-of-the-mill patients who don't work in healthcare really couldn't care less about their lab work results, so they usually do not ask about them.

Also, it is out of the floor nurse's scope to discuss lab results with patients unless the attending physician has explicitly given a nurse permission to disclose the info.

With the exception of waiting an excessive amount of time for PRN medication, I have not read anything in your post that describes quality of care that falls below the predetermined standard.

Ask yourself this question: Would the board of nursing censure or revoke the licensure of the nurses who rendered your care for the actions they committed or omitted? The answer is a resounding "No." Overall, unless you left something out, the care you received seems acceptable.

Nurseyjo · Feb 13, 2017

I do think nurses are harder to please in some ways. Especially when our families are being cared for. If you are a good nurse who provides excellent qualify of care, you have expectations that some nurses and/or facilities have difficulty in meeting. When you are a professional who knows what goes on behind the scenes, you see things differently. Especially because you know the protocols and what should be done, that often isn't being done.

AliNajaCat · Feb 13, 2017

I'm going to be on the other side on this one (surprise). It's not the average lay person's fault if s/he doesn't recognize the difference between good care and sloppy care and meekly acquiesces to all of it, but I do know and I suspect most people here do too.

When I take a case mgmt pt to a doc and have to actively intervene to get his concerns heard, when the nurse says, "You'll have to talk to the doctor about that" when I ask about why my newborn's chest has EKG-cup hickeys all over it, when my nurse brings me a meal tray when I'm three hours out from big back surgery and doesn't even offer to help me sit up before she scampers, when my daughter's newborn gets a bottle even though the nurses have been specifically told she's breastfeeding and somebody leaves a syringe with an uncovered needle in her bassinet, when my 89-year-old mother gets prn tramadol put in her weekly pill box by the RN for TID and is asleep twenty hours a day as a result, I can't -- won't-- remain silent.

I was perfectly willing to talk nursing with a new grad who wants to ask me newbie questions (although when I had necrotizing fasciitis in my episiotomy I was so drugged I, a long-time critical care nurse, couldn't remember whether atropine made a heart go faster or slower), but when the RN preceptor wants to stick me for extra labs because she didn't understand the concept of peak and trough levels, I'm not gonna keep my mouth shut.

Yes, I have had occasion to write notes to nursing management about these sorts of things. And yes, I also write laudatory ones when I am blown away by great, and even GOOD care. Feedback is a gift.

martymoose, BSN, RN · Feb 13, 2017

I don't think my nurses minded me as a pt, and the NM ended up giving me a courtesy private room. But some of the nurses were pretty new, and I didn't feel like being that person to berate them- ie- I told you don't push the dilaudid fast or I will instantly Vomit( despite zofran prior.) And of course since I proceed to vomit almost on the nurse right after, I suppose that nurse learned to listen to the pt there after.

Another thing I should have complained about, but didn't , was that the d/c nurse gave me a flu shot, but then I found out it was never documented. Ugh, so I had to get another one at PCP.

Most of the nurse pts we've had on our floor are treated very well and grateful;usually not PITAs. Many times they are from the competing hospitals and say they get better care from us!