Doc rage

Nurses General Nursing

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I posted this on the canadian thread, but would appreciate any input from the rest of you too.

I just got off work and I want to vomit. I had a woman in labor begging me for an epidural, crying screaming, etc. But tough for her because our anesthesiologists aren't doing any "unecessary" procedures because of their disputes with the Liberal gov't. At one point I had to leave the room because I started tearing up. I can not understand how a doctor could leave a patient in a situation like that. She delivered a healthy baby eventually, but how will this woman EVER trust health care workers again? How do you explain to a patient that the doctor refuses to see her because he wants a better deal for on-call pay and until the Liberal gov't gives in he doesn't care about her? :(

I completely raged at the doc on the phone and I am sure I'll hear about it on Tues when the charge nurse is back, but I was just so angry How the hell can a doctor justify not caring for a patient because of contract negotiations? I saw the medical associations commercial last week and I noticed they never mentioned that 392 MILLION dollar raise they'll be getting. I am so disgusted by them right now. How much money is enough to keep them from harming patients? I have become so sickened by how this health care system is being destroyed. I am sure the gov't is planning on privatising and the docs will make more money, never mind the fact that patients will suffer. I have had it. I am jumping ship. Emailed an American recruiter I know and will be going to the US after Christmas this year.

Is anyone else as frustrated as I am? How are your areas coping with the Campbell Cuts and the Docs' money grab?

Specializes in Everything except surgery.
Originally posted by fedupnurse

Hey Fergus,

What are the hospital execs in Canada paid? Boobaby and Brownms, my doctor of 30 some odd years retired a couple of years ago. He was a GP. Everything from delivery to death. He was the type who made house calls and really cared about his patients. I was able to find another like him. He's my age so if he stays in medicine I'll have him for life I hope. Really good ones are so hard to find.

Our execs get six to seven figure salaries with perks. Lots of perks. Just wondering if it is the same up North.

fedupnurse... you're one lucky soul!

Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.

These doctors are owned by big corporations, who don't give a flying damn about nothing BUT money. Case in point: I had to go out on short-term disability due to my back a few weeks ago, and when I returned to my specialists' office to pick up the completed forms, not only did they present me with a bill for doing the paperwork, they didn't have it HALF done.

I walked OUT of that office WITH the completed forms...and left them empty handed....!

just had a pt...case of elderly abuse and neglect. i could not get ONE doc to fully examine her.

i asked one to take a look while he was on the unit and he said he didnt feel like writing any more. i told him i just wanted him to witness her condition. he said..."im not getting involved in whatever you are trying to do"

i couldnt believe it. what i was TRYING to do was get PROPER CARE for my patient.

i was amazed at the lack of caring on the part of the docs as well as some of the nursing staff. they just wanted to get her out of there. she was too much work. ..and its damn hard to look at inhumanity

piece of shyt "doctors"

This nurse to cover yourself be sure you documented it or you and the staff can be blamed for any of the injuries. If the floor doesn/t have a camera see if another floor does if not bring in your own to document. You need pictures of any bruising or torn sckin. As they say "cover your A__ S.

I'm a first year nursing student up here in canada. i'm taking nursing because i want to help people. shouldn't doctors want to to help people to??? ...but unfortunately...patients seem to be at the bottom of "SOME" (i don't want to paint all doctors with the same brush) doctors priority lists. 2 years ago my ENT whent away on a three week vacation after seeing my CT showing that i had malignant tumors!!! while he was on vacation my cancer, nasopharyngeal, progreesed from stage 2 to stage 3. Luckily after i fired that idiot i got the best ENT my city has,and the best oncologist in atlantic canada. thank goodness after being in the hands of a careless doctor i was put into the hands of some fabulous ones. i've been in remission for two years now, no thanks to the first doctor.

Nursebutterfly, welcome to a most rewarding career. I believe in Canada you have to be a BSN for entry into the profession does that still hold? You said you are on the Atlantic side when my family comes from Halifax. I am only second generation as my cousins say in the colonies. Sometimes it is in the States. Your nasal cancer is not uncommon. I am glad you fired the doc is there anything you can do. I know here in the States someone would sue for something like that as it is so close to the brain. I did a paper on nurse mortality and it took the death certificates of 25,000 nurses and 25.000 women who made the same salary. It turned out that nurses die of nasal cancer than any other cancer. So now you have already had it and you are beating the odds. Also with nursing school your not going to have time to think about anything else but nursing. The other incidence of cancer were that nurses had more breast cancer and uterine cancer. How that is I will never understand as your working in a health care facility that basically making you at higher odds of cancers than the population. Since I still have cousins in Halifax what would I need to do to practice in Canada. I am an RN with an Associates degree. I am woirking on my BSN at present. Would I have to complete the program before I would be allowed to practice? Good Luck in your studies and good health. Keep us up to date on everything Disabled

Disabled, if you are currently an RN you can work as an RN here in Canada, anyone new entering into nursing must have BSN. this came into effect maybe 4 years ago. There are plenty of nurses at our local hospital who who do not have a BSN, many like your self are going back to school to get it anyways, even though it is not required. But if your new like me the 4 year program is the only way to do it. not that i mind...i'm hoping after 4 years i will be alot more prepared than i would be after only 2.

nursebutterfly, I have a BA in history with a minor in theology. After working as a clerk in an ER that was small but very busy the nurses showed me how to get IVs ready in the event of an accident. There were other things so I decided that if I am doing this stuff already then why not get paid for it. My family was in Florida so I moved here and registered to vote here while on vacation the year before so that I would be a Florida resident when it came to tuition. I got my ADN 18 years ago. It was the most rewarding thing I ever did. I worked for 16 years in hospitals and home health. When I complete the degree I am thinking of going on and getting a certificate in therapeutic touch. I am now physically unable to work the floors anymore. I do miss it so much. I do some respite care that has a token sum that helps with getting the bills paid. I am on what is called Social Security here. That is a government plan that pays individuals like me a small sum to live on. I was making $45K here which I would think would be close to $50K there with the exchange. Have you thought of moving to the States. I have found with the generic BSN students that they really don't get enough clinical time here. As an ADN were were in the hospitals 16 hrs a week in addition to going the previous evening and reading the patients chart and learning the meds the patient was on. That is when I truly came to love nursing. I wish you the best of luck in your studies. In the end it will be well worth it. There will be days you will say why did I do this but there will be few and far between that will make it all worth the work. Seeing a baby born for the first time. Helping someone to die with dignity. Giving a "mature" woman a hug because you haven't had yours today. To see just that little bit of a smile makes it all worth it. I know there is still a scare with AIDS patients protect yourself with gloves and if they are vomiting use a second disposable gown but don't forget they are human beings and they need human touch also. Most have had their families disown them years ago and many die alone. I have never been afraid to hug an AIDS patient. We don't know the circumstances behind it. In giving hugs I always say I got more out of it than they did. It also breaks ice so to speak with older women. The older men like a big smile and sometimes a hug but be sure it is okay with hijm in the event his wife walks in. People definitely get better when someone notices them and shows them attention. Once again, GOOD LUCK What province are you from? My clan is in Halifax and Dartmouth.

Disabled,

the BSN Program that i'm taking here is the through the university of new brunswick and i'm located in moncton a 2 hours drive to halifax. i think with our program they are giving us enough clinical time to be prepared. in previous years the first year students had none...this year as first year students got to put in 66 hours of community nursing and 66 in the hospital...that number doubles triple and quadruples as the 4 years progress. i really like this program i'm taking and the instructors i have our just wonderful. One of my fellow students did a project not to long ago on therapeutic touch, i thought it sounded really neat. Thanks for the encouraging words regarding my studies.

-Melissa

Melissa, if at all possible do you think your classmate could email me the project on therapeutic touch. I hope she has it on a floppy or on hard drive or something that she can email it to me. I would be very appreciative if it is possible. Many times in traveling to NOvie we stopped in New Brunswick. When my niece and nephew were small we would have them call their parents around 9p and say good night however sometimes we continued driving up to 3a. The kids didn't mind it because after a while they fell asleep anyway. I remember one time we went and there was a big convention and we could not get a hotel room so the manager of the hotel had a friend whose son had gone off to college and they had two spare rooms. Well the girls in one and the boys in the other. They saw to it that we had a hearty breakfast before continuing on. They would not let us pay for the night or the food. We called the hotel manager and thanked him. NOw a days down here you wouldn't even think about going to someone's house. Any time we have travelled to Canada I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope to go back some day. I have cousins in Enfield and Halifax, and Truro. I have a cousin who is 95 and a Sister of Charity. She still gets around but they insist on her using a walker. she has had one cataract removed and her vision has improved immensely and she is after her doc to do the other one and says if he doesn't soon she is going to someone else. She still has a lot of spunk. Just about half the female relatives have been teachers or nurses. I have done both and they don't know where I fall. I have been to St. Anne de Beaupre, St. Joseph's, Montreal for man and his world after the Expo, I went a couple of times and stayed with my cousins in the convent. My mom took the four of us and that would be 2 brothers and my sister and I and we stayed with them at the convent. It was different to say the least.

Why don't you catch me on my regular email address and that is what you can give your classmate and it is [email protected]

I would like to know what classes and stuff you are taking.

The ADN program has you in hospital clinicals in six weeks after you begin classes. The BSN students, and that is where I find they lack here is that they don't get into clinical areas until they are in their junior year. They have a program that if you are an RN and have your associates degree and have worked in the past 3 years and have a 2.5 out of 4 your accepted. Well, I had more than enough credits I have taken Trans I and 2 which is the beginning of community nursing with some field work, a Critical Inquiry which is a basic research class that requires stats as a prerequisite I don't know why as there were maybe a paragraph of it. Health Assessment which is going through each system and knowing what the proper way to assess a patient and what to look for, and now Leadership and managent. I have yet to take Community with clinical, Policy making, an elective, and the final semester is all clinical in the area of your choice.

Melissa, to continue I am thinking of taking the therapeutic touch for my final semester if it can be arrange. There is a local hospital tthat is building a 12 bed hospice house. I don't mind at all working with those that are dying as it really is a part of living as we do it each moment. I have held all kinds of dying patients so that they would not be alone. This is particularly true of AIDS patients. Many times the families write them off years before. Many have aquired it through no fault of their own say a blood transfusion. They unfortunately found that with the tragedy of September 11th here. People donated blood only to get letters later telling them that they had AIDS or hepatiitis or leukemia. There was a delay in these people finding out as the blood had to be processed and that takes time and then the letters went out about a month after it happened. Some individuals had been hit with a personal tragedy on top of loosing a spouse, friend or lover in contracting AIDS. AIDS sounds like the big bad wolf but it is not. These patients also desire human touch. That is one reason I have never been afraid to give any patient a hug and maintain universal precautions. I have gotten great satisfaction in working with the dying patient. It is so sad when they are abandoned or they are the last in their family, or they have family and we have absolutely no way of contacting them.

So if you should have any questions of the ol' nurse let me know as I would be more than happy to help. I take work questons from my classmates and I feel like I am there once again. I had gone into nursing for the money but now there are days that I could cry that I can't do it the way I want to anymore. I am hoping with the therapeuitc touch it will not have the physical challenges as working on a unit. Before you hit the floors be sure to get a good pair of running shoes or cross trainers as they have more support than the old fashion nursing shoe. I see a podiatrist and he suggests New Balance and Nike, I don't know if you can get them where you are but you can get them online. New Balance are reather expensive but worth the investment.

Hope to hear from you and your classmate soon

Marian RN,C

Update:

Our nurse manager was in and actually (GASP!) supported me in my raging!!! The anesthesiologist came in and complained to her about me and she actually asked him to leave the nursing station if he wasn't there to see any patients! I just about fell over. Did I mention how much I love our new nurse manager?

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