Heinous or Forgivable???

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I was doing a 1:1 observation with an elderly confused woman who tends to wander. So I was in the room with her and the 19 year old unit clerk came in with a piece of paper that said " My name is !#@*. If found please return me to Unit @*!$. she then stuck the paper on the lady's back with a piece of tape. I waited until she left and I removed it because I think that is totally degrading and if someone did that to my mom I would knock them out. So later the lady and I were walking down the hall and the unit clerk goes, ' Where is her sign"? I said, "she took it off,"(even though i am the one who took it off) so then the clerk goes and gets the sign and sticks it back on her back and I was like, " come on, don't put a sign on her back, ' and she gets all nasty and goes, " well everyone else does it, " I said, " well if she is supervised like she is supposed to be and has hospital ID like she is supposed to, then she shouldn't need a sign, " Not to mention the fact that it is altogether tacky and mean. I find it the equivalent of putting a KICK ME sign on someone's back. So then the clerk grabbed the paper and ripped it up in little pieces and and stomped away like a 2 year old. The sad thing is that she just started nursing school. What does everyone else think of this? Am I overreacting?

I could just see myself beating someones's butt with my purse...:rotfl:

I think you should walk her (the unit clerk) around the building in a head-lock a couple of times and teach her some really hands on behavior modification theory for her nursing school classes.

Okay, i have to play devil's advocate here.

She stated that "everyone else does it". Now I agree with all of you that is is wrong, degrading, and ultimately unneccesary, but this young girl obviously learned this behavior from someone else and from the looks of it does not have the mental capacity to understand why she was wrong.

Still, I would probably not have been so nice with her!!

NurseLeigh

Originally posted by P_RN

Cruel.

Reportable.

Yes ma'am. :(

And Vegas.........

If I saw one of my loved one's with a sign on their back like that, someone would have to hold my purse.

Have I told you how much you crack me up today?!!! ?? :rotfl: :lol2:

Please educate this young thing...this behavior should not be tolerated.It should be reported, and if "everyone is doing it" how about a staff meeting to discuss respecting your patients, and higher ethical behavior! Sr. Margaret

Originally posted by Flo1216

I was doing a 1:1 observation with an elderly confused woman who tends to wander. So I was in the room with her and the 19 year old unit clerk came in with a piece of paper that said " My name is !#@*. If found please return me to Unit @*!$. she then stuck the paper on the lady's back with a piece of tape.

I would have hit her so hard she'd get arrested in Toledo for speeding!

-Russell

Specializes in Surgery.
"...if it were my mother..."

Someone needs to explain it to her that way. How would she appreciate a sign like that on her own mother?

I agree, Sr. Margaret.

Shocking, I thought I saw or heard everything. This is elderly abuse plane and simple. Someone needs to be re-educated. If they don't change their behavior they need to be fired. To think I used to get upset because some of the staff was not as polite and patient and understanding as I thought they should be.

Heinous!

What does she mean by, "everyone else is doing it?"

Personally, I don't think that you are overreacting at all. I just recently started nursing school myself and I have realized that it really takes caring people to do this profession. It is almost like you can tell who will make a good nurse and who will not. This person seems to be quite the oppisite and may need to rethink her future professional plans.

If I were to hit someone w/ one of my purses..she would have been knocked unconscious ..:rotfl: If it were my Mom....the staff would all have their heads on a platter, but as a nurse , I probably... would have taken the paper off the lady's back and crumpled it up into a ball and tossed it onto the floor. I would have then said " what part of 1: 1 monitoring do you not see here?" Then later when I cooled down, I would have reported this attitude to my supervisor. I have always worked w/ the elderly and it is amazing how some forget Alzheimers is a disease and their behavior is not their fault. I think a meeting w/ staff about their approach to some residents is warranted. I think she is doing what she has seen or been told to do ...and needs to be corrected prompty. As with any other nurse who thinks that is an appropriate form of monitoring. Again... I am tossing in my 2 cents for today! Laura LPN

:angryfire

I agree that is cruel and not only does she need so action taken against her, but 'if everyone else does it' then the floor needs reeducated.

Some people are just raised without a sense of right and wrong, but as others have stated maby health care is not a career for them.

Letting her get away with it is will be in a way telling her it is ok, go with your gut and turn her in.

+ Add a Comment