I Feel Like An Oddball

[TrudyRN]

So often, I find myself upset that other people on the threads are expressing what I find to be judgmental, critical attitudes toward patients, especially the poor ones who generally use the ER's.

I just don't like seeing the attitude that I see here so often lately, which I'd describe as finding ER patients demanding, impatient, and unreasonable. Maybe it's because I'm older and have experienced pain and sorrow that I can relate to some of our less fortunate fellow travelers.

I just wish every nurse, every anyone who thinks it is easy to be an ER patient could experience going to the ER and having to wait for several hours, only to be given what one does not think is appropriate care.

Am I the only here who senses the described attitude?

[LeahJet, ASN, RN]

This is just out of curiosity.........

If there is anyone that has been an ER nurse for over a year and thinks that we are totally out of line and incorrect...... please speak up.

[GardenDove]

I float to ER occasionally and there are alot of untogether people who use their services. Last night I was there part of the night to help out and there were some drunks, etc, and I can see why ER nurses get burnt out, they have some less than respectable clientle. They get many frequent flyers who they know quite well and they definately get disillusioned with humanity. In fact the doc who was there last night was venting after taking care of a frequent flyer who everyone in the hospital is frustrated with due to his frequent admissions for ETOH related pancratitis and general gastritis. I started an IV on him, he really wanted his pain meds and was his usually whiney pathetic self. His labs ended up all negative and he didn't get admitted. The doc says that basically he is forced to do alot of stuff to avoid getting sued. I told him is could be worse and probably he was feeling trapped because his wife was pregnant, lol, and he agreed and thanked me. He just needed to talk.I think if those venting threads are upsetting, best to stay off of them.

[nurse4theplanet, RN]

In my experience on allnurses, I have noticed MAYBE one or two posters who consistently were judgemental/critical of pts, displayed a nasty attitude throughout several threads, etc. And I chock that up to burnout.

However, I post on a pretty regular basis and read through so many threads...you get to notice people's personalities and I don't get the impression that most posters are being overly critical, or that any of the nurses here would be suspect of providing bad care.

Sometimes people just have a bad day and need to vent without someone whining about their post being judgmental and flaming them for it. How would you like to have the shift from hell, with no support, only to post your frustrations and be raked over the coals by absolute strangers who attack every little thing you say. Especially, if that stranger begins their post with, "Well, I'm a student and I don't believe you should....blah, blah, blah" and the original poster has years of experience. It's kind of like a slap in the face.

There are bad nurses out there, sure. AND there are bad patient's out there. So where do you go when you really want to let loose about a particularly BAD patient who was abusive to you and abusive to the healthcare system, without being accused of being judgmental?

[GardenDove]

Well said soldiers wife.

[nuangel1, BSN, RN]

tazzi,leah and mab said it well .i am an er nurse i have been a nurse for 20 yrs.i am kind smart capable and an excellent nurse but we all have bad days ,bad pts,frustrating situations.etc we come here to vent then go back to work and do our best for the pt.we don't need the holier then thou coming back at us saying we are mean and judgemental .you don't know what we see and deal with on daily basis in er unless you do it .i willl gladly take care of anyone sick but its the foolish nonurgent "i need a preg test " i can't stand .oh and the rude insensitive entitled people that come in .

[JVanRN]

In my experience on allnurses, I have noticed MAYBE one or two posters who consistently were judgemental/critical of pts, displayed a nasty attitude throughout several threads, etc. And I chock that up to burnout.

However, I post on a pretty regular basis and read through so many threads...you get to notice people's personalities and I don't get the impression that most posters are being overly critical, or that any of the nurses here would be suspect of providing bad care.

Sometimes people just have a bad day and need to vent without someone whining about their post being judgmental and flaming them for it. How would you like to have the shift from hell, with no support, only to post your frustrations and be raked over the coals by absolute strangers who attack every little thing you say. Especially, if that stranger begins their post with, "Well, I'm a student and I don't believe you should....blah, blah, blah" and the original poster has years of experience. It's kind of like a slap in the face.

There are bad nurses out there, sure. AND there are bad patient's out there. So where do you go when you really want to let loose about a particularly BAD patient who was abusive to you and abusive to the healthcare system, without being accused of being judgmental?

I guess I'll just quote you and f/u with a "me to" since you pretty much sum up what I want to say...only more eloquently.

No, TrudyRN you are not the only nurse on here who cares and has empathy. You are not an oddball.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

Give me sick people piled up, even stretchers in the hallway, and I love my job. I'm exhausted, but I love it.

Give me dude in an ambulance, here with chest pain for the 9th time this week and I'm rolling my eyes frustrated. Especially when he asks for a warm blanket before we get the EKG leads attached.

If you want to ruin my night send me a sick person that we manage to keep going, but afterwards about twenty people with sore throats or runny noses that complain about the wait, and call us a Bandaid station, and give us snotty looks from the door.

I'm telling you, after a code the entire ER staff should get a 30 minute break to debrief and learn from what happened. I get nervous about going through the waiting room to get a drink of ice water. Some fool is sure to ask how much longer, and did I know he's been waiting out there for TWO HOURS, and he's got his kids too, it's past their bedtime.

My nightmare is that I'll get so jaded and cranky some night that I'll miss someone who is really sick and suffering. I'll tell you, I've brought back some jerks immediately, and taken the flack from the waiting room crowd. "I was here first!" If you want experienced staff that can weed the chaff from the grain you are going to end up with the venters, and the ER hardnoses. Not many of the others last more than a year.

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

I think that I understand where the ER nurses are coming from. My 4 year old was sick, and I had an appointment for the next day, however he started having problems breathing (turns out he has asthma and was having his first asthma attack). I drove him to our ER, and he is brought back within 5 minutes of us walking in the doors, and as we are going back there is a man who stand up and start shouting at the nurse, why do they get to go back before us, we were here first, that it wasn't fair. The nurses in the ER where great with my son and brought him a stuffed animal, to try and calm him down during his breathing treatment.

I would have been frustrated, my son was gasping for air, and that man was berating the nurse because we went first.

[GardenDove]

Do they have a sign telling people it's not a restaurant and the nurses aren't waitresses? Or maybe they should have a message repeating over and over again "We don't assess patients in the order they are received, but based on the ABCs"

[Djuna]

I guess what I've found is that I gravitate to the older folks on the board because the kids are - well, kids. Less tolerance, more knowledge - you know the drill.

I find that an interesting statement because in my experience the younger nurses are generally very caring and make an attempt to be patient advocates whereas in the ED I work in the older nurses are rather callous and cynical and more apt to make snide comments about people's misfortunes.

[Soup Turtle]

Turtlesoup: Why does it say "exiled" under your username?

...because I am a bit goofy at times.

[treddrn]

I agree with you about feeling like an oddball. I guess I could probably deal better with all the craziness in triage if I didn't have to put up with my mean coworkers. There is so much politics in the ER I work in that it is ridiculous. I can't believe how some of my coworkers are still able to work here. You know that saying that nurses eat their young.....well it's true in the ER I work. I am 38 years old and I am the youngest nurse in the ER.