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 SNF, Home Health & Hospice, L&D, Peds.
I have been a nurse going on 30 years now (which I find hard to believe lol) however, I have been very ill and hospitalized as well. I was so sick I was unable to think as a nurse... I was a patient a very sick patient and I didn't want them to assume I knew anything at that point, although the staff knew I was a nurse. Being hospitalized is no ones best "hour" and thinking is not always clear or rationale for patient or family because health issues do cause much stress and fear. So for me, yes, I prefer to have everything explained as you would to other patients and if I am able to formulate the thought to ask questions (i.e. specific lab values etc) I will do so. Although after I had my oldest child I tried to help with making my bed up and the nurse told me to sit down and take it easy, I wasn't on the clock and she would do it for me lol old habits die hard. With my youngest I foolishly allowed the nursing assistant to assist me in walking to the bathroom before my epidural had completely worn off and even after I heard the nurse tell her not to try to walk me to the bathroom alone. Im not sure why I allowed it and then when the nurse came back and saw that she had assisted me alone, after she had JUST told her not to, I jumped in and said I had been fine, which I actually wasn't. Im not sure why I defended her either because I heard what the nurse said to her and logically knew it wasn't safe. That is what I mean by our nurse minds dont always work as they would as our normal work mode nurse minds do.
I've never had a problem with a nurse being the parent of one of my patients (I work in pediatrics). I DID have a difficult time once when the parent of my patient was an adult surgeon at the adjoining hospital. He basically refused to speak to the nurse about anything beyond when the next dose of tylenol was due and when the doctor would be rounding. Actually, he barely looked up when the nurse would walk in the room and greet him.
He also asked the attending physician if there was a special parking lot for the doctors that was closer than the visitor lot, and if you needed a badge to access it.
He also went behind the nursing station and started digging through files and papers, trying to find a blank sheet of paper and a pen so he could try to draw a diagram of his child's surgical repair (which he ended up drawing wrong).
He also tried to use the computer station in the patients room to chart on his patients, despite the nurse kind of NEEDING that computer, you know, to do their own work.
Most frustrating of all, the attending physician catered to him and would give him test results without also sharing them with the bedside nurse (before the computer report would come up), so the nurse ended up looking clueless through no fault of their own.
I'm retired/disabled now but I laugh reading some of your comments (not to laugh at you) but because it reminds me of one of my most difficult patients. He was a retired MD with some dementia and very demanding.
I laugh because he'd totally abuse the call button, then demand his pain meds. Such as; "nurse - so-and-so STAT for pain". I'd remind him "now Dr. Smith, you know I can only change the order if your Doctor says to do so, right?" Hoping to get him back to some kind of reality for a moment. Sometimes it would work briefly, other times not so much....lol. But he was a true character and ornery as heck.
Then every time you'd take him in his scheduled medications he'd make you go through the total rundown about what it's for, the dosage, frequency and such.
He used to irritate staff all to heck but he was kind of funny too. And often times he did make perfect sense.
Just had to share my story.....Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone !
Just do your best and if they are a nice reasonable person it won't matter. You will always meet people in healthcare that have more or less knowledge than you. If they have something to teach you, learn from it. If they have deep medical knowledge, then adjust your education to reflect their level of understanding. I was just recently a patient, 3x due to a pulmonary embolism. I let staff know I was a nurse because I needed to let them know that my medical literacy was very high and I had a very clear understanding of all the tests. I also had a very clear understanding of the symptoms I was having (though the first time I was sent home from the ER as they thought I was having anxiety, then subsequently they did a CT scan on my next visit). I also found that even being a nurse, I had to still strongly advocate for myself on several occasions. I had to push the providers to move things forward. I had to ask for meds to be ordered. I had to over and over again say "I'm not anxious, I just feel like I can't breathe which of course isn't going to make me calm." If anything, having a patient with a medical background is a good thing as they can better communicate their needs and participate in their own care. My personal experience also really helped me to understand how frustrating it must be for patients who can't or don't have the mental or emotional energy to speak for themselves. I would echo what katfish67lpn said that being in the hospital is really no one's finest hour. I was always very polite to staff and said please and thank you, but there were a couple times I got frustrated dealing with the medical residents and it is really difficult to be pleasant when you're in a shared noisy room and you feel like crap and you have people coming in to take your blood or vitals every few hours.
LOL my son's little friend (years ago) was over and said his uvula hurt and he has to take medicine for it - so he had to go home. I was laughing to myself when I asked well honey is your Mom a nurse? He said "no my grandma is a Nurse". I thought (Yep who says their uvula hurts when they have a sore throat?) funny!
You better do a good job, they know exactly how the tune goes
When my kids were young (back in the day when nurses worked in docs offices), I would find them very competent. In 2010 I was in a serious accident that landed me in the hospital for a month.
I had a wound vac drsging where the wound was 3 cm at it's deepest spot; 7x9cm oblong lateral L thigh. Two nurses came in to change the drsging on the wound vac (I had been complaining that it seemed very dry).
I knew it was too dry, so while they're putting down all the supplies, I was looking for the saline to put on the sponges to ease the sponges off (that had definitely adhered to the wound). It had been 6 or 7 days since the wound vac drsg was put on in the OR and whoever put the white sponges on cut them up and shoved them into parts of the wound (I was already apprehensive about the knowledge of anyone at that hospital about NPWT). It was just a sloppy job.
When the two nurses proceeded to change the wound without putting saline on the sponges to loosen them up I stopped them. The quote from the one nurse was "this is the way it's done; look at it like ripping a band-aid off a wound; it's quick." Images of my wound bed ripped wide open went through my mind; oh, and the excruciating pain.
Lord have mercy above; I refused to let them touch me and asked for a doctor or the charge. The doctor wasn't available and one of them was the charge! Ok; I talked them into going and getting a bottle of saline just to appease me. They didn't know I was an RN. It took about an hour for the drgs to come out in a manageable manner without tearing and ripping the wound apart. I finally told them I was an RN and knew quite a bit about wound vac drsgings.
After that, staff would go into great detail when bringing my meds, doing anything to me. The charge actually thanked me later and admitted that there had been very few wound vac drsgings on their floor. She also made sure the changing of the drsging was done every 2 to 3 days PRN.
That was just the first week, I could write a book about the "almost" mistakes that could have taken place after that. Let's just say; I know they threw a huge party after I left (I know I did when I got home). This was the biggest hospital in the city...in fact in the state. If you live in Hawaii; you know who I'm talking about.
Moral of this story...don't take it for granted that everyone knows their stuff.
i am usually not a patient, but when i broke my arm i talked my ED nurse into becoming a sub school nurse ( it wasn't a far stretch -they were already doing it for other districts :) )
I once had to place a foley catheter on one of the managers where I worked!!!
Same here, but it was my nurse managers HUSBAND!!
I have to admit that when I was newer I was a little more nervous about being judged for my skills. But now I am settled and confident, and I actually feel relieved when someone tells me they are a medical professional because then I can talk to them in "medical speak" and not have to explain everything.
If they are a concerned family member, it even makes my life a little easier because I put them to work with smaller things. I acknowledge and respect their knowledge, and it helps me out at the same time.
Hi I am A disabled RN frequently a patient. With COPD and a rare trachea and upper bronchi disease called collectively: Acquired (or adult) Tracheobroncho malacia. Plus 54 yrs IDDM. 20 yrs on pump.
I have had nurses as patients as well as a physician.
I don't hesitate when I see nursing students to insert myself into their conversation; with much appreciation afterwards. I loved nursing with all my heart and soul.
I encourage new nurses to not even think about what any patient does/ did for a living. When I had the Doctor during report the night off going RN told me he was losing his practice due to this neurological disease he had contracted. She informed me "He just wants to be left alone!" First thing in my mind was No he is depressed.
I have strong ppl skills. And first thing I did when I introduced myself to this physician was told him how much I respected him and his dedication to his patients. I then told him,"Today Dr. So&So you are Mr So&So not doctor. I stated that I was responsible for his well being that day and that included his physical, mental, emotional and if needed his spiritual well being. I spent just as much time with him as I did my other patients. At shift end and after report, I went in to tell him good night. He asked me if I would come back and talk with him after I clocked out. I did of course. He told me that I was the ONLY nurse that had spent ANY time with him since his admission. Stating "They treat me as if I have leprosy." I apologized to him for my fellow nurses. And explained that they were too focused on his being a doctor that they were afraid. He hugged me and thanked me for caring and not letting his education affect the care I provided him. I informed him that I had discussed the situation with his new nurse and that she would pass on the same to each nurse after her as well. We talked for about 20 minutes before I left. I never saw him again, but recently saw a news report stating that he had passed away.
I don't focus on the patient's careers. But on my patient care. As most nurses try to do. It is not always easy. But acknowledge that they are RNs and be your self. Take some some deep breaths before entering their rooms. No patient that is a medical professional should sign in as RN or MD. I have had to tell nurses that cared for me that they had to forget about me being a RN. and just be themselves. As long as you are yourself and treat them with respect, you should be ok. Not that you won't have a RN or LPN or MD that won't complain about every little thing. Long as you do what you were taught to do to the best of your ability You will have a great day caring for each patient.
I was actually writing my story on that very subject earlier today. Hopefully I'll get it finished by tomorrow. Just seems so long already---covering many years.
It doesn't bother me. If they want to ask more in depth questions about my care or their treatment plan, I'm happy to entertain that, as well. It's their body, their care. If they have more knowledge than the next patient and want to apply it, more power to them.
Wuzzie
5,243 Posts
I especially love taking care of old army nurses. Man do they have stories!!!