Mannequins in LTC

"They treat us like mannequins", I hear this as I squeeze past two wheel-chair-bound women. They nod sagely, looking up at me eye brows raised with that certain tilt of the head, meaning 'yeah, she's one of them. What an odd thing to say I think, and it haunts me for days. Why do they feel like that? Nurses Announcements Archive Article

Mannequins in LTC

A mannequin according to wiki, is "(also called a mannekin, mannikin, manikin, dummy, or lay figure) is often an articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing.

Did these women feel like dolls? Did we simply dress them each day to our liking?

No, that's not what they meant...or this one, "A mannequin is a life-sized model of the human figure, used especially in advertising and sales. That's closer I thought, life size model of a human being. Something we notice, obliquely but don't really give the time of day to.

A mannequin has no soul, nothing behind it's painted on eyes. A mannequin is mostly...ignored. That's what they mean. We ignore them, treat them like a mannequin, dress them, feed them, move them around the nursing home on our own whims.

Go to PT, to OT, the dining room now. Go to the bathroom, sit down on the toilet, brush your teeth we order in bored voices.

As they do our bidding our own eyes glaze over staring into the distance, thinking about what's for our own dinner, our own plans, what we will do when are no longer here at work.

The mannequins, are wheeled down the hall while we talk, not to them but to each other, they aren't real why would we talk to them? That would be crazy--talking to a mannequin. It must seem to them that we don't SEE them. Their very humanity is obscured by their age in our young eyes.

We see gray hair, gray eyes, hear confused conversations, and forget this is NOT a mannequin. This is a real live person. Just like me--only old. Maybe even BETTER than me in some ways.

Mannequins don't age, they are forever young, beautiful, skinny and beautifully dressed. They never, ever change. Not one tiny bit.

People on the other hand are tall, short, fat, old, young, skinny, smelly, funny or angry. They act horrible or very kind. The differences are easy to see. So why are two old ladies made to feel unreal? The mind that thought that profound complex idea is most definitely alive, soulful, spiritual, and worthy of so much more than a clean set of clothes that get hung on them tomorrow, and a meal of ground pizza.

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NamasteNurse

About NamasteNurse, BSN, RN

Specialty: Pediatrics, geriatrics

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This is very disturbing to see what the patients think of the nurses, CNAs, ect. I'm still a student but from what I've seen there does seem to be a complacent (sp.?) attitude from the CNAs and nurses in long term care, I don't think this is unique to nursing. Any job becomes routine after a while. I do think the patients in long term care enjoy students because we pay lots of attention to them. There never seems to be any time for "therapeutic communication" for the nurses and CNAs to give to the patient. It's certainly not intentional, just the volume of work is so much there is little time for anything else. That's my 2 cents. What does everyone else think?

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Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

It sounds like they are feeling dehumanized, like shells of their former selves. I would probably feel the same way if I had to go to a LTC facility as a patient.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, home-care.

These people have more history and love than most of their caregivers have in there little finger! I worked with MANY other CNAs and Nurses that "talked over" these people. I wish there were more consideration to our elderly. As long as these nursing homes put the almighty dollar first, there will never be enough compassion for more workers to "enjoy" their work and have "time" to enjoy the human aspect of each resident. :twocents:

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I hate to say this, but this post sounds very real to me.

I only spent 3 days in an LTC for my CNA clinical, and I can't tell you how excited these residents were to see students. They commented so many times how they don't get attention like they do from students or they don't get cleaned as well.

I had a girl who was only 3 years older than me. She lived in that LTC. She fell in love with me from day 1 because I took 5 minutes to do her makeup and shave her armpits. She wanted to wear a sleeveless shirt and she said the aides do not shave her armpits. I thought, as a woman (especially one so young), I would feel dehumanized by having someone not take out 2 minutes to shave my armpits. I mean, that's a dignity thing for woman.

I understand CNA's are busy, but it breaks my heart that facilities have put patients emotional needs at the bottom of the list.

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

Mama was in LTC for nearly 3 years. ONE time I came in and found her strapped in with a posey into a wheel chair with all the other ladies in front of the Nurses' station. Y'all must have heard me from way down here in SC. I WAS FURIOUS!!!!

That was MY MOTHER. she was ambulatory. Able to feed herself and enjoyed her soap operas that were on her TV in her room. The CNA said this is how we keep track of them. Uh, what about makeing rounds????HUH????

Now Mama did tend to wander, but just up and down the hall and she loved playing gin rummy with the ladies in the break room. She carried a little notebook to remind herself her room number, her favorite TV channels and when meals were. She had Alzheimer's, but she wasn't just a cool body lining up to be herded.

Lined up like mannequins is so perfect a description. Yes you had to have heard my voice when I told them to get that posey off, get her Winnie walker out of the closet (her own) purchased with money I received as a gift.

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Sadly, I believe this is all too real, in too many places.

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Specializes in Oncology&Homecare.

This article is sad but true. Which one of us can say that we have never talked over a patient or ignored them while giving care? It is never the right thing to do but either through over work or boredom we forget that the patient has a name, a life and a history. Reminders like "they treat us like mannequins" is thought provoking. Hopefully, it is a wake up call for all of us!

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Specializes in SNF.

I have to wonder how many of the people who have left posts on this subject have spent any length of time working in a LTC facility. Most of the caregivers from the nurses, cna's and the ancillary employees right down to the house keeping dept. are caring individuals who try to go out of their way to assist these residents on a daily basis. Whether it be with hands on care or just stopping by to say hello and chat with them for a moment.

To happy2learn: I would have to ask you; did you ever go back to the LTC where you spent 3 days doing your clinical work and volunteer? I think many of those same resident's including the one who feel in love with you would have loved to see you again and spend some time and chat with her.

To P_RN: It is unfortunate when any resident has to be restrained for any reason. Sometimes restraints are used on an as needed basis to help maintain the safety of residents. Your mother sounds like she was pretty high functioning so I'm wondering did you think perhaps you should have taken her home? If it were my mother and I had her placed in a facility where I thought they were treating her like "a cool body lining up to be herded" I would have removed her from that environment immediately. As well, I would just like you to realize that those residents that you referred to who were sitting with her are not cool bodies and they and their families would find it highly offensive of you to refer to them in that capacity. You, just like the cna who told you that "thats how they keep track of your mother" by putting her in a posey vest are a part of the problem. Your words are more offensive than the cna's because you are the RN and you should know better.

To MulticollinearityRN: As a RN you do such a great deservice to nursing in general when you make the statement that you would probably feel dehumanized yourself if you needed to be placed in a LTC facility yourself. They are people with no medical training or knowledge of LTC facilities who will unfortunately read your statement. They will see that you are an RN and think that actually might have some knowledge or area of expertise on this subject and perhaps feel quite disheartened that next week their father will be entering a facility.

Despite the preconceived notion that LTC facilities are big money making operations they are not. Anyone who has a loved one in a LTC should do some research into exactly what a facility receives to take care of them.

As is with many things in life, alot of people will complain about the problems but few will try to be a part of the solution.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, home-care.

LatRN.. I have worked in LTC 3 years. I am not a young person starting my career... I am 59 yrs old, and worked there 3 years ago. I am not saying the LTC have hordes of extra money, but the staffing they had where I worked were MANY, MANY management staffers (Sorry, used to be in Mgmt for years myself), but the LACK of full staffing, hiring agencies for back up because of not being able to keep DECENT CNAs, LPNs, and RNs, mainly because of lack of RESPECT, not MONEY... I worked beyond my normal realm of pace to get all the vital care done, and did not have time for the special "touch" I would like to have been able to do without getting reprimanded because of being short staffed... We were not allowed to be in the building helping, or befriending our residents off the clock at any time, because of POLICY... I tryed to be part of the solution.... Didn't work out... I only hope the best LTC gets better and the not so best get revamped.... Thanks for letting me vent.....

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Specializes in SNF.

meintheUSA: I appreciate your frustrations with being short staffed but unfortunately I think staffing shortages are a nursing issue in general not just in LTC facilities. As a person who has worked in LTC in management you should have some understanding for the reasoning behind all that staff. You know as well as I do of the incredible amount of state and federal regulations that they are bound to adhere to and the number of policies and procedures that are needed to maintain that facility within said regulations.

Many facilities have policies regarding employees being in the facility off the clock and I think this could be said about many employers not just those in the medical field. Of course there are reasons for this, I do not necessarily agree with them but I'm sure if we looked into their reasons for doing so they would be partially driven by liability and insurance issues.

I think all nurses can empathize with having to work beyond their normal realm of pace to get the job done. I think that there is this preconcieved notion sometimes by nurses that working in LTC is where you go to work when you want a slower pace, with less demands and responsibilities placed upon you. I can go work in the LTC down the street and pass out a few colace and some blood pressure medications and take care of some nice older folks and my job will be so much easier. Oh wait, you mean I have to give medications to 25 people today, redress 5 wounds, hang three GT feedings, 1 admission, send a patient to the hospital for a change in condition, take vital signs, perform assessments and documentation, monitor staff and do all that in 8 hours. No, its only 4 hours into your shift. You now have to figure out where "Henry's" hearing aids are. Henry dosent know because he cant remember he has dementia. So you search the room, and the trash can. You check with dietary and laundry and the other employees but noone has seen them. You go to the dirty linen room to check the trash but it has already been emptied. We have to find the hearing aids because Henry cant hear without them and the one thing he enjoys doing is going to listen to the music programs. So now you and a coworker go to the dumpster where you pull out bags of trash and rummage through all that you can possibly imagine and find Henry's hearing aids wrapped up in a tissue.

Now you can go back inside because its time for most of those 25 patients to get medications for the second time today. There are no code teams, no doctors in the building, when the fire alarm goes off due to a confused resident pulling it "because it said pull on it" you are one of the people responding with fire extingisher in hand. You take care of the confused, the combative, the debilitated, the lonely and the dieing. You do what you can to help them live what's left of their lives with the most comfort and dignity possible.

At the end of your shift you sit with with your patient and her daughter as her mother is dieing. You give what ever bit of emotional support you can give and make sure she is comfortable. Your patient takes her last breath with her daughter at her side. You try to do what you can to ease her daughter's pain. You tell her that she lived a full life and that she did all she could for her mother. I tell her that her mother helped bring her into this world and now she has helped her leave.

And you were short a CNA today and a nurse for the next shift has just called in sick...oh and wait I think I still need to pass out a colace.

So if you have tried to be part of the solution and it didn't work, try something else. Keep trying, for the good fights are never easy ones but they are usually the most important.

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What can WE do about the lack of staff if the "manaement" does not act on our complaints?

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