HELP Resident calling baby "stupid" What to do!!!??

yetanotheramanda · Oct 31, 2009

I am usually very quick to get annoyed with people who flame posters who want to vent. I am ALL FOR VENTING. Nursing is a very hard, often just straight up brutal, job. We all deserve to vent!

But....

If you can't get it together and be professional enough not to curse in front of BABIES, call BABIES names, or make fun of a BABY'S member (seriously?) then that is just sad.

Like I said, we all deserve to vent. That's what allnurses.com is for. Or the break room. Or our diary. Whatever. In the middle of the unit (no matter the time of day) is not the place. In front of the patient (no matter the patient's level of understanding) is for sure not the place.

Miss Chybil RN, BSN, RN · Oct 31, 2009

Re: "It makes me sad that some of you take care of our most vulnerable patients"
In that case, let me urge you never to walk through a NICU in the middle of night when all the parents are gone, or you'll hear plenty of horrifying discussions of which babies are annoying, or ugly, or are probably going to die, or have funny-looking memberes.
And while babies may be vulnerable to infection or hypothermia or dehydration, they're not vulnerable to being called stupid, because it doesn't mean anything to them.

:angryfire:

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Oct 31, 2009

Just curious why this needed to be included?

My sentiments exactly...

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Oct 31, 2009

I won't tolerate behaviour of my co-workers defaming others(patients, visitors, co-workers, etc.) no matter if they are young or old-just seems crude and uncalled for.

So it's NOT ok to vent about the pts and/or family members we are taking care of?

I work on a very busy med/surg unit. I cannot think of an hour that goes by that none of us vent. What is the alternative, to explode?? Meh!

hopesgramcracker · Oct 31, 2009

An alternative would be take a breather somewhere else for a second and control yourself because you may just hurt someone or get yourself in trouble. Like I said if someone like that can't handle their job, start looking into another career.

allnurses Guide · Oct 31, 2009

It's unclear from the OP if they said this in the break room, at the bedside, within earshot of anyone else etc. I wouldn't hang them before finding out the circumstances. I also think your original post is bizarre in the manner it describes the resident.

Again I don't understand why people say nothing and then go to the boss. Are you offended by the cursing or by the criticizing a patient?

How many times have you had the most irritating patient and gone to a coworker to say "oh my god, that guy is so annoying! he's driving me insane!". Some people swear as soon as breathe. You really have to be there to know if she is venting inappropriately or malicious.

I would have felt perfectly fine to say "Whoa - it's not acceptable to call a patient xxxxxxxx or xxxxxxxxxxx. You should act professionally or you'll find yourself written up".

CASTLEGATES · Oct 31, 2009

Have you seen the comedian Louis CK when he talks about his "stupid" 4 year old? Hilarious! http://comedians.comedycentral.com/louis-c-k-/videos/louis-c-k----talking-to-a-five-year-old

To be honest, baby's are stupid...they don't know everything we do!

*yes I have kids and I love em!

maxthecat · Oct 31, 2009

I think what bothers me about this resident is that it sounds as if she has objectified the baby. The baby is an object whom she is manipulating with her treatments and the baby is not responding as she wants it to. Guess what--this isn't an engineering project. That baby is a human being. And if you can objectify it, I worry that you will objectify me when I need treatment.

TreehuggerRN · Oct 31, 2009

To be blunt, there is never an excuse for cursing a human patient, especially one as vulnerable and helpless as a baby. I agree with the above poster, the way it sounds this doctor was working on a car. That is a sick and twisted way to blow off steam. And nurses who ridicule babies (especially deathly sick ones) in a nursery...SHAME ON YOU. I can't emphasize that enough, SHAME ON YOU.

If you can have that kind of contemptuous attitude for a helpless baby, smile at the parents and when they turn away spew vile remarks, this makes me so sick I can't find the words to describe my revulsion.

I will never look at NICU nurses the same way again.

I get frustrated with patients, but I have never felt the need to curse and say nasty things to "blow off steam." All a person does when blowing off steam is reveal their true colors. Am I perfect? No, far from it. I do have a temper and I have acted like a fool in front of others, but I could never take it out on a baby, of all people.

pennyaline · Nov 2, 2009

it makes me wonder if this resident should even be in the medical field period. if she can act like this toward a sick baby who is the most vulnerable of all, she should find a new career. i thought as health care workers we are to have compassion for people including babies. apparently not all of us do. would any of us feel that this behavior is excusable if the resident acted this way toward your child? i think not. just because someone may be stressed out, hungry or tired does not warrant this type of behavior. that baby is in the hospital because he or she is very ill not for fun, or because mom and dad want a night out. what a shame.

well then, as you are a healthcare worker who is evidently charged with compassion for all people, shouldn't you be trying to understand and empathize with the feelings and motives of the resident who made the remark? because if you're not doing so, then you must include yourself in the tally of the hypocritical, pompous and insufferable.

MikeyBSN · Nov 3, 2009

Above: Despite their relatively large cranial capacities, babies such as this one are so unintelligent that they are unable to distinguish colorful plastic squeak toys from food sources. LOS ANGELES--A surprising new study released Monday by UCLA's Institute For Child Development revealed that human babies, long thought by psychologists to be highly inquisitive and adaptable, are actually extraordinarily stupid.

The study, an 18-month battery of intelligence tests administered to over 3,500 babies, concluded categorically that babies are "so stupid, it's not even funny."

Sample Results:

Baby #2,678:

TEST SITUATION:

THROWN TO PACK OF WILD DOGS.

RESULT:

EATEN.

Baby #217:

TEST SITUATION:

WRAPPED IN PLASTIC SHEETING.

RESULT:

COULD NOT FREE SELF. NEARLY SUFFOCATED.

Baby #856:

TEST SITUATION:

PLACED IN CENTER OF LAKE ERIE IN ROWBOAT WITH NAUTICAL MAP TO SHORE PROVIDED.

RESULT:

STILL ADRIFT NEAR ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY.

According to Institute president Molly Bentley, in an effort to determine infant survival instincts when attacked, the babies were prodded in an aggressive manner with a broken broom handle. Over 90 percent of them, when poked, failed to make even rudimentary attempts to defend themselves. The remaining 10 percent responded by vacating their bowels.

"It is unlikely that the presence of the babies' fecal matter, however foul-smelling, would have a measurable defensive effect against an attacker in a real-world situation," Bentley said.

Another test, in which the infants were placed on a mound of dirt outdoors during a torrential downpour, produced similarly bleak results.

"The chicken, dog and even worm babies that we submitted to the test as a control group all had enough sense to come in from the rain or, at least, seek shelter under a leafy clump of vegetation or outcropping of rock," test supervisor Thomas Howell said. "The human babies, on the other hand, could not grasp even this incredibly basic concept, instead merely lying on the ground and making gurgling noises."

According to Howell, almost 60 percent of the infants tested in this manner eventually drowned.

Some of the babies tested were actually so stupid that they choked to death on pieces of Micronaut space toys. Others, unable to use such primitive instruments as can openers and spoons due to insufficient motor skills, simply starved to death, despite being surrounded by cabinets full of nutritious, life-giving Gerber-brand baby-food products.

Babies, the study concluded, are also too stupid to do the following: avoid getting their heads trapped in automatic car windows; use ice to alleviate the pain of burn injuries resulting from touching an open flame; master the skills required for scuba diving; and use a safety ladder to reach a window to escape from a room filled with cyanide gas.

"As a mother of four, I find these results very disheartening," Bentley told reporters. "I can honestly say that the effort I have expended trying to raise my children into intelligent beings may have been entirely wasted--a fool's dream, if you will."

Study results also prompted a strong reaction from President Clinton. "All of us, on some primitive, mammalian level, feel a great sense of pride in our offspring," Clinton said. "It is now clear, however, that these feelings are unfounded. Given the overwhelming evidence of their profound stupidity, we have no choice but to replace our existing infant population with artificially incubated simu-drones, with the eventual goal of phasing out the shamefully stupid human baby forever."

http://www.onion.demon.co.uk/theonion/other/babies/stupidbabies.htm

Miss Chybil RN, BSN, RN · Nov 3, 2009

...then you must include yourself in the tally of the hypocritical, pompous and insufferable.

:grn: