How do you deal??

mentalhealthRN · Jan 23, 2011

I know EXACTLY what you are talking about and yeah it is frustrating. I had one guy....an older male nurse I worked with who seriously would have gone down the line and given every single pt a "cocktail" injection--Ativan-Cogentin or Benedryl and Haldol.-needed or not so he could sit on his keaster and do nothing. He would always say they were "all full of sh**!" I had a pt one day who he walked into her room as he happened to be walking by and just started irritating her out of the blue and before I know it he is telling me--oh I called security for your pt and I am giving her an IM, grab the restraints. --I was like, wait a min. I was just with her, what happened. I tell him hold on let me go and talk to her first. I go in and she tells me what happened and is crying but calm and appropriate with me. CERTAINLY no risk for hurting herself or anyone else. Crying because he yelled at her and she didn't know why. So I go and tell him that she will not be needing meds or restraints and that I spoke to her and she is fine. He yells at me and tells me he is charge and she is getting the meds. I got so mad and lost it. I yelled back at him and told him he abused his power as the nurse and that he didn't want to provide care fot pts. That his answer was always to drug them and tie them up and that maybe he ought to try having some compassion and actually TALKING to the pts. I threatened him that he better not go anywhere near MY patient. He was mad but I was tired of his horrible treatment of his own pts and was certainly not going to let him do that to my pt. He backed down after that. There are nurses working psych that...well..... shouldn't be. I see this kind of treatment often with pts with a Borderline PD Dx. They get treated horribly often by judgemental nurses. I wish I had the answer other then to tell you to ignore them and stick to your guns. Be a role model of how the psych nurse should behave and treat all pts. There is a way to be firm and not allow pts to staff split and to not be taken advantage of and still be respectful and kind about it. The best nurse on my unit had been there for 32 years--right out of school. She was soft spoken and ALWAYS kept her cool. A pt could be yelling ar her and calling her names and she would be all calm and say....sir, I understand you are angry and thats okay but it's not okay for you to speak to me this way. How can I help you right now? --that kind of thing. She was always respectful and kind, but knew better then to allow a pt to walk over her. She was really a great role model. So not every nurse who has been at it forever is hardened-- just a tid bit to give you hope. Another thing you could do is mention your concerns to the manager and maybe some inservices are in order about compassion! lol Good luck to you. Sounds like you are on your way to a great career a psych nurse.....and no, synicism does not have to be contagious. Thank god!! lol

Baubo516, RN · Jan 23, 2011

I am not a nurse yet, but I deal with this at work as a teacher. It is hard (impossible?) to change other adults' attitudes, but you can avoid them. I choose not to eat lunch with the most negative bunch at my school. Perhaps you and the the other "non-jaded" nurses can eat/talk together at work. Also - I think it is appropriate to say to them, "When I hear you talking that way about patients, it makes me uncomfortable." If you think it is affecting patient care, definitely tell someone in management. You could help protect a patient from bad treatment.

Simply Complicated · Jan 24, 2011

I know EXACTLY what you are talking about and yeah it is frustrating. I had one guy....an older male nurse I worked with who seriously would have gone down the line and given every single pt a "cocktail" injection--Ativan-Cogentin or Benedryl and Haldol.-needed or not so he could sit on his keaster and do nothing. He would always say they were "all full of sh**!" I had a pt one day who he walked into her room as he happened to be walking by and just started irritating her out of the blue and before I know it he is telling me--oh I called security for your pt and I am giving her an IM, grab the restraints. --I was like, wait a min. I was just with her, what happened. I tell him hold on let me go and talk to her first. I go in and she tells me what happened and is crying but calm and appropriate with me. CERTAINLY no risk for hurting herself or anyone else. Crying because he yelled at her and she didn't know why. So I go and tell him that she will not be needing meds or restraints and that I spoke to her and she is fine. He yells at me and tells me he is charge and she is getting the meds. I got so mad and lost it. I yelled back at him and told him he abused his power as the nurse and that he didn't want to provide care fot pts. That his answer was always to drug them and tie them up and that maybe he ought to try having some compassion and actually TALKING to the pts. I threatened him that he better not go anywhere near MY patient. He was mad but I was tired of his horrible treatment of his own pts and was certainly not going to let him do that to my pt. He backed down after that. There are nurses working psych that...well..... shouldn't be. I see this kind of treatment often with pts with a Borderline PD Dx. They get treated horribly often by judgemental nurses. I wish I had the answer other then to tell you to ignore them and stick to your guns. Be a role model of how the psych nurse should behave and treat all pts. There is a way to be firm and not allow pts to staff split and to not be taken advantage of and still be respectful and kind about it. The best nurse on my unit had been there for 32 years--right out of school. She was soft spoken and ALWAYS kept her cool. A pt could be yelling ar her and calling her names and she would be all calm and say....sir, I understand you are angry and thats okay but it's not okay for you to speak to me this way. How can I help you right now? --that kind of thing. She was always respectful and kind, but knew better then to allow a pt to walk over her. She was really a great role model. So not every nurse who has been at it forever is hardened-- just a tid bit to give you hope. Another thing you could do is mention your concerns to the manager and maybe some inservices are in order about compassion! lol Good luck to you. Sounds like you are on your way to a great career a psych nurse.....and no, synicism does not have to be contagious. Thank god!! lol

Thank you! The majority of the staff has been here forever, and some of them are really wonderful. Even the ones who complain about the patients, or make the rude remarks still do their job. Although they are often the ones who tend to hang in the office and not have a lot of interaction. We don't have a strong management at all, so I can guarentee that would go nowhere. It's more just that it's annoying, and I don't like being made to feel like I am naive or something simply because I care. I am not a new nurse, just new to psych.

I am the first to admit that I am still learning. I am learning to set better boundaries. But having things to learn doesn't mean that I need to look at them the same way a burnt out nurse does. I have a lot of customer service experience. I've learned to smile through even when I really want to go off, lol

Davey Do · Jan 24, 2011

Simply Complicated:

You've probably heard of the technique to deal with stage fright? You know, picture your audience naked?

Most Complainers look really funny naked. If that doesn't work, I picture myself naked. Now THAT's a Hoot!

Don't let the bastards get you down. ( Is it O.K. To use the word bastards?)

Dave

NurseDaddy2006 · Jan 24, 2011

I too know what you mean. I've worked on a unit with some nurses that seemed to have forgotten why they got into the line of work they are in. Hello? I get that you've been at it a long time. I get that you've got kids in college and you don't like where you're at but can't afford to quit. I get that you've heard all the stories and seen some of the frequent fliers a million times. But that does not negate the fact that the people we provide CARE to are people. Yes, they can push your buttons. Yes, they can be frustrating. But they are mentally ill, most often did not choose to be there, and are on the unit because they are not at their best at the moment. As nurses we unlock the door, let ourselves out with allowing a patient to elope, and go out to our car and drive home. How many of the people we call patients are able to do that?

It was tough for me being the nurse on the unit that the patients got along with, went to for advice, felt comfortable confiding in. The others I worked with didn't get why that was. I'm sure they thought I was >this

I guess I didn't deal very well with the situation being vented about, since I left that unit and inpatient psych altogether. But then again I'm not that skilled at playing the game... getting along... acting one way but thinking another. What I feel on the inside is on my outside most of the time. So I came to grips with the fact that I'd probably never be able to make that place work for me. I'm much happier at my new job, pretty much one of one, the sole nurse on my team here.

So in summation, I can identify with what you're saying.

mentalhealthRN · Jan 24, 2011

Another thing I like to remind these complainers about when they complain about all the patients is this.......hey if they were not here you would not have a job! Think about it as job stability! LOL

Simply Complicated · Jan 24, 2011

Thanks, it helps to know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Luckily, I am a float nurse for 4 different units so I am not always working with the same people. It definitely helps.

mathis1965 · Feb 1, 2011

Just keep doing what is right for your patients and for yourself. Sorry to say that those nurses are present in all areas. I went to school to help people and I love what I do. I am new to Psych Nursing as well but psych is a part of all areas of nursing. Hang in there and know that it will bite that nurse in the but eventually.

Cindy Brothers · Feb 2, 2011

It is hard to remember that mental illness is a disease. If you work cardiac, you see the same patients over and over until their condition stabilizes or they die. Its the same for psych.

cargalrn · Feb 12, 2011

I'm new to psych and I am already tired of the way some nurses treat the pts. "I cant deal with borderlines". The pt refused 1:1 today and now she wants to talk; she can wait". Etc, etc, When the pt reaches out and comes to the staff instead of self abusive behavior, isnt this a good thing? I have one pt who I encouraged to ride a stationary bike every day. She is bored out of her gourd on this unit. She tries to get on it, but needs a staff member present. There was alot of tension on the unit this evening and she asked another pt to not use the phone for alot longer than her alotted time, the other pt started shouting, they both went on their way. This ptwas tense and anxious afterward and asked to go on the bike, and was purposely told no. Riding the bike is a positive coping skill and the head games they are playing, the power trip thing disgusts me. I had to bite my tongue to keep from splitting the staff. The patient suffers. It is so wrong. Any of the nurses there could have taken some charting in so the pt could excercise. They chose to sit at the station and socialize. Sometimes I am ashamed of my profession.

canuck19 · Feb 24, 2011

I am not a nurse yet but I know what you're talking about. I had a relative in the psychiatric ward a few months ago that I visited frequently. I've never realized how badly funded the psychiatric units are, not only that but I couldn't help but notice the lack of interest from the nurses. They ignored patients, talked to themselves at the nurses centre while patients waited eagerly at the door. At some points the common room would be completely full of patients and no nurses, nursing aids etc would be in sight! Are all hospitals, wards etc like this? There are a few nurses who I became very friendly with and I could see had a genuine interest in their career but I would say the majority seemed as if they wished they were somewhere else...