Quite frequently, I find myself caring for patients who are nurses or who are former nurses, or those who have family members who are nurses. I have to say that these people make me a little more anxious than those who are not and those who do not have any family connection to nursing. When I see RN after a patient's name, it almost makes me intimidated, even though I'm an RN myself.
Although I'm not sure what, exactly, causes this anxiety, I think part of it has to do with feeling the necessity to perform to perfection. Not that I give substandard care to non-nurses, but I feel like I have to be especially mindful when I'm caring for a nurse. After all, they know what is going on, and will likely know if I'm doing something wrong or am missing something.
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
I think this is normal in any field.
When I was a yoga teacher I didn't like teaching other yoga teachers. It was nerve wracking when I was inexperienced and annoying when I became confident.
I imagine that lawyers feel the same way when they represent lawyers.
I had similar experiences at a different Kaiser as a Traveler...Floated nearly every shift, in the middle of the shift etc..Also, was told by an ANM that "they heard I had an attitude problem", and like the OP, never spoke a word of criticism towards anyone and kept the "Stepford Nurse" smile on my face the entire time. Everyday I was there, staff from each of the units I regularly floated to asked me when I was going to apply for a permanent position as they all loved working with me. When I asked what specifically I did to give the impression I had a bad attitude, no answer would be given...not even a vague one. Until I read this post, I thought it was the particular Kaiser I worked for. Now Imwonder.
Also, worked at UCSF for many years in the past and loved it. Interesting.
I like taking care of nurses. I try to pamper them as we all know how hard it is to be a patient and we work very hard taking care of others.
The other side of the coin is that I have been a patient many times...and was more concerned about not being a pain in the neck to my nurses. One time, I kept track of all my I's and O's trying to be helpful....stuff like that. That might irritate some...I don't know! But, I was voiding practically every hour and didn't want to "bother" my nurses as I could get in and out of bed myself. And, if he/she needed a specimen, that was easy enough to produce.
One time, I d/c'd my IV since it had infiltrated with Potassium. I had the call light on X's 30 minutes...no exaggeration, and I couldn't take it anymore. As it was, I had painful sclerosed veins for 8 months afterwards. It was a crazy scene you'd see in a movie...(hee hee)! I pulled the pump closer to me using the IV tubing, turned it off, (plus, it was alarming the whole time, too), d/c'd the IV and held pressure over the site with my bed sheet.
I was wary of taking care of other nurses back when I was new and inexperienced in the field. It comes from a fairly reasonable fear of being caught making a mistake. Still, never actually had a particularly bad experience myself.
At this point, taking care of nurses, doctors, etc doesn't bother me at all. It's rare that I come across a patient or family member who knows as much or more about my field than I do. And when I do, they tend to appreciate the quality of care that I provide.
Here's a statement that might get me into trouble: I'm much more wary of taking care of someone (or someone with a family member) who flunked out of nursing school, quit the field in their first year, or works in the lab - anyone who might have a chip on their shoulder toward nursing or feel they have something to prove and has little idea of how much they don't understand.
I understand what you mean but medical technologists understand more than you might think.
I said it might get me into trouble.
In my experience (which is of course limited and fallible just like anyone else), it seems there might be plenty of room for a technologist to understand more than I give them credit for while still understanding less than they believe they do.
I like taking care of nurses. I try to pamper them as we all know how hard it is to be a patient and we work very hard taking care of others.
The other side of the coin is that I have been a patient many times...and was more concerned about not being a pain in the neck to my nurses. One time, I kept track of all my I's and O's trying to be helpful....stuff like that. That might irritate some...I don't know! But, I was voiding practically every hour and didn't want to "bother" my nurses as I could get in and out of bed myself. And, if he/she needed a specimen, that was easy enough to produce.
One time, I d/c'd my IV since it had infiltrated with Potassium. I had the call light on X's 30 minutes...no exaggeration, and I couldn't take it anymore. As it was, I had painful sclerosed veins for 8 months afterwards. It was a crazy scene you'd see in a movie...(hee hee)! I pulled the pump closer to me using the IV tubing, turned it off, (plus, it was alarming the whole time, too), d/c'd the IV and held pressure over the site with my bed sheet.
Anyone interested in a post about being a patient since you have been a nurse?
i had similar experiences at a different kaiser as a traveler...floated nearly every shift, in the middle of the shift etc..also, was told by an anm that "they heard i had an attitude problem", and like the op, never spoke a word of criticism towards anyone and kept the "stepford nurse" smile on my face the entire time. Everyday i was there, staff from each of the units i regularly floated to asked me when i was going to apply for a permanent position as they all loved working with me. When i asked what specifically i did to give the impression i had a bad attitude, no answer would be given...not even a vague one. Until i read this post, i thought it was the particular kaiser i worked for. Now imwonder.
Also, worked at ucsf for many years in the past and loved it. Interesting.
I agree. And I think that would go for any layperson too. It's amazing the wealth (or lack of) knowledge our diverse population of patients bring.
One of the more frustrating situations I experienced as a nurse happened early in my career when I took care of a patient who worked for the DEA and brought their professional knowledge/[mis]understanding of narcotics to bear on their post-operative treatment plan. They took any attempts to educate them on medical aspects of narcotic usage as dismissive of their 'expertise,' offensive even. In this case, the patient had a very difficult personality to work with that would have made them touchy regardless, their professional experience and biases notwithstanding. As always though, a little bit of knowledge along with a bulletproof confidence in one's own outlook can be a dangerous combination.
I ended up walking a lot of my nurses through drawing labs off my central line. The oncology floor was full, since I wasn't in for a cancer tx (flu and cellulitis, ugh), I ended up in a private room on another floor. One morning I woke up to 6 people coming in to see how to do it!
Lots of IV fluids for low BP (might have been just a little septic). Kept telling them to leave 2 hats in the toilet, as i would overflow the one. They looked incredulous, then again when I'd void 1300 or more. Afterwards one asked "was that all one void? How on earth ....?" I just said 30 years of night shift nurse bladder Mostly I was too sick to move much, so until I sat up I didn't feel an urge to go.
I like having nurses as patients. It gives me a deeper sense of pride and satisfaction to take care of a member of the profession for many reasons... especially because we all tirelessly work to take care of the general population in our lifetime. Also, because I understand, as nurses, we (usually, often) take care of everyone else first and ourselves last.
The nurse-patients I have experienced have tended to hold more rational expectations and have been very compliant with care (than non-nurse patients)... partly because of their education/training/experience. Personally, I've found caring for them to be easier because of their insights into the healthcare system. Plus, you can "talk shop" with them to a certain extent. If you're a competent nurse, have a good sense of humour, and have a few years of good/bad/ugly clinical experiences under your belt to build up your confidence... the intimidation factor goes away.
Mostly I was too sick to move much, so until I sat up I didn't feel an urge to go.
FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN
2,320 Posts
I think this is normal in any field.
When I was a yoga teacher I didn't like teaching other yoga teachers. It was nerve wracking when I was inexperienced and annoying when I became confident.
I imagine that lawyers feel the same way when they represent lawyers.