My best friend was recently in the hospital. He went in with sudden vision changes to find out that there was something abnormal on his CAT scan...the MD's told him either a brain tumor or vascular bleed. Turned out that it was a vascular bleed and he should be fine. Anyway that is not what I need advice for.
While we were in the hospital his nurse was VERY rude. I understand how stressful nursing can be but she was TOTALLY out of line. In no way did I or my friend do or say ANYTHING rude to her what so ever...in fact when she was being rude I totally bit my tongue...just wanted to be there for my friend.
ONE example (of many)...my friend told his nurse that he was feeling dizzy. Her response was...and I quote word for word "you are NOT dizzy, I took your blood pressure and it was fine. If you were dizzy your blood pressure would be high". Now I am just an SN but even I knew that was ridiculous as there thousands of reasons you can be dizzy...my friend who was in tears already just replied, "ok I guess im not".
Also my friend, who hadnt been in a hospital for 10 years or more, told his nurse (very calmly infact) that he was afraid of needles...her response was..."if you were afriad of needles, why did you come here?" Of course her tone was less than desirable. At this point my tongue was almost bleeding but I said nothing...then my friend asked if he could go out to have a cigarette...something I dont condone but alas its not my choice. Her response was (this was the first time he asked too) "I dont care what the hell you do". I understand that it is a liablity for her to let him get up so I, not her, had to explain that to him.
I guess I was just very disapointed in her....I don't like that she treated my friend that way, especailly when he was sooo vulnerable! I'm torn, my friend has asked me what I would do if I were him, and honestly I don't know. Is this something that I should report or not? If she treated my friend this way (and he wasnt a confrontational pt at all) how does she treat other patients??? I know everyone has bad days but does this condone her behavior? I dont want to disrespect or make harsh judgments or anything so I am asking what you guys think is an appropriate action? Thanks, all advice is welcome.
I glad his experience got better. If he is still in the hospital when you get this, I'd suggest to have a talk with the house supervisor before he leaves.
So kind of an unrelated question. Once my roommate comes home what are some tell tale signs of the bleed starting up again? THe MD said that the bleed should get better over the coming weeks and it shouldnt continue to bleed...he prob will have to walk with a cane for awhile. He has pretty bad headaches which acc to the MD should lessen with time...his vision is disturbed and the MD said it is a possibility that he may not recover 100% but he should regain most of his function. I know the obvious to watch for, ie worse vision dist. worse headaches, orientation...but any more not so obvious things?? Thanks again guys..
One of the very first signs of bleeding in the brain is altered levels of consciousness (confused, lethargic, somulant, unconscious). Other signs and symptoms can include a sudden onset of a severe headache (sometimes described as the worst headache ever - it well probably be similar to headaches he experienced with this episode), dizziness, inability to speak and/or comprehend what is being said, slurred speech, facial droop, weakness/numbness/tingling on one side of the body (or complete paralysis on one side), vision changes (blurred, double, vision field cuts (vertical or horizontal), or a combination of any or all of the symptoms. In short, you are looking for signs and symptoms of a stroke.
I would call the hospital and ask for the Nurse Manager of the ER first. If you don't get a satisfactory response, then ask to speak to the Director of Nursing. In addition to this, I'd write a general letter explaining the treatment you recieved and send a copy to the nurse manager of the ER, the DON, and the president/CEO of the hospital. Also if you can get the name of someone in charge of patient reps, send one their way as well.
I hope your friend continues to improve. Let us know how he's doing, and what, if anything, came from your complaints.
This is great advice, I think. this nurse was absolutely unprofessional and having a bad day is by no means an excuse. Also, I would have demanded to speak to the charge nurse at the first instance she was rude or even just making him uncomfortable and I would have demanded to be reassigned to a different nurse. You as a pt. have the right to do that, you know? And at least in my hospital, where I used to work, the customer service policy stated, that the charge nurse is obligated to oblige to any such request. I think that if more patients were aware of that and used their right, there would be less rude nurses and less negative hopital experiences.
One time, this one family demanded not to have me as a nurse for their loved one. Not that I was rude, but they felt that I wasn't experienced enough. These people were kind of....shall I say stange, sort of disfunctional at first sight, constantly made a whole lot of uncalled for demands and complains on all the health care providers, switched doctors several times during their loved one's one week stay at out facility, and eventually ended up having the poor guy transfered to the local university hospital in the belief that he'd get more expertise there.
The charge nurse dismissed their demand to not have me as a nurse the next day, explaining to them that "I was one of their best LPNs, I am very proffessional" etc. etc. and assigned me to that patient again for the next day. Without telling me anything about their demands. I cared for the patient unaware of anything. The next day I come in and learn that they complained to their doctor who made a big stink, yelled at the charge nurse etc. She got concequently reprimanded for not responding to their request.
I was pretty angry at that time at her too, because I had a strange feeling of being somehow victimized. I was made the subject of the animosity of these people and of their doctor without even being made aware of it. At the same token these people's wishes were disregarded.
After my hurt feelings healed, I realized that this poor charge nurse was basically just defending me and my professionalism. But ultimately if she would have responded to their request immediately, she would have saved them, me, the physician and herself a lot of grief.
This is great advice, I think. this nurse was absolutely unprofessional and having a bad day is by no means an excuse. Also, I would have demanded to speak to the charge nurse at the first instance she was rude or even just making him uncomfortable and I would have demanded to be reassigned to a different nurse. You as a pt. have the right to do that, you know? And at least in my hospital, where I used to work, the customer service policy stated, that the charge nurse is obligated to oblige to any such request. I think that if more patients were aware of that and used their right, there would be less rude nurses and less negative hopital experiences.
One time, this one family demanded not to have me as a nurse for their loved one. Not that I was rude, but they felt that I wasn't experienced enough. These people were kind of....shall I say stange, sort of disfunctional at first sight, constantly made a whole lot of uncalled for demands and complains on all the health care providers, switched doctors several times during their loved one's one week stay at out facility, and eventually ended up having the poor guy transfered to the local university hospital in the belief that he'd get more expertise there.
The charge nurse dismissed their demand to not have me as a nurse the next day, explaining to them that "I was one of their best LPNs, I am very proffessional" etc. etc. and assigned me to that patient again for the next day. Without telling me anything about their demands. I cared for the patient unaware of anything. The next day I come in and learn that they complained to their doctor who made a big stink, yelled at the charge nurse etc. She got concequently reprimanded for not responding to their request.
I was pretty angry at that time at her too, because I had a strange feeling of being somehow victimized. I was made the subject of the animosity of these people and of their doctor without even being made aware of it. At the same token these people's wishes were disregarded.
After my hurt feelings healed, I realized that this poor charge nurse was basically just defending me and my professionalism. But ultimately if she would have responded to their request immediately, she would have saved them, me, the physician and herself a lot of grief.
Im sorry that happened to you. I think my feelings would be really hurt too.
I suspect the nurse I have been referring to has some serious burnout...I just hope that when I finally graduate I will always remember not to ever become that way...
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
Having been a nursing supervisor in two different acute hospitals let me tell you what to do if something like this happens again.
If you are in the ER (or any nursing unit) during regular business hours (8-5 Mon-Fri for most hospitals) this nurse should be reported to the manager of the unit. One way to set this in motion is to approach the nurse you are reporting face to face and tell her you'd like to see the manager. Don't say anything more than that. If she asks you why, tell her you have something you want to speak with her about. I wouldn't recommend getting into a confrontation with a nurse acting the way she was. Or, if one prefers to be more discrete, go to the nurses station and tell the unit secretary who you are and that you would like to speak with the nurse manager. If they ask why just tell them you have a complaint.
If it is after hours, instead of asking for the nurse manager, ask to talk to the nursing supervisor. If you want to bypass the employees simply go to a pay phone, or use a cell phone and call the main number of the hospital and ask to talk with the nursing supervisor. Again, if they ask why just tell them you are in the ER and have a complaint about your treatment. If you are in a patient room you can pick up the phone and call the hospital operator and ask to speak with the nursing manager or supervisor. They will page the supervisor and most likely connect you directly to whatever telephone she is near.
The nurse manager or nursing supervisor should come to the bedside fairly quickly. It is part of both their jobs to intervene when there is any kind of conflict between a patient and a member of the staff. It also gives these managers a chance to address the employee right at the time of the event. As a supervisor I would have had to write up an administrative incident report (not the same as the incident reports done for medication errors or accidents). I would put all the facts I learned about your complaint on this narrative report and what I had done to attempt resolution. The report goes to the administrative supervisor above the unit manager and nursing supervisor, so it is generally seen by upper management on their next workday where they will take follow up action. For very serious situations the supervisors have access to the contact phone numbers of upper management to report events of an urgent nature.
Let me also tell you that even though you are not the patient, you are a member of the patient's immediate circle of support as well as a guest of the hospital. As such, you are entitled to the same respect and courtesy with which the patient, hopefully, is also receiving. You have every right as the person accompanying a patient to speak up on their behalf if you see something being done that you feel is wrong.
After reading your post and many of the replies I wanted you to know how very saddened I was by the poor treatment you and your friend received. Most hospital administrators cringe when they hear something like this happening in their facilities. At this point it would be best to put your complaint in writing so it exists in a physical form. You could send it to the nurse manager of the ER, but I would urge you to send a detailed account of your experience to the highest nursing administrator you can identify--and name names. The hospital operator can tell you who that is. Please don't feel that since you weren't the patient that you don't have a right to do this. That is so far from true. You are a legitimate complainant. It also sounds like your friend needs his rest and a mental environment that is free of stress at this time. How fortunate he is to have you by his side.
Also you are entitled to request a different nurse.
As far as signs? more later
We have a rude dayshift cna and she recently treated a patient rudely and the patient did not back down from her. patient said," GET THE H*** OUT OF HERE I AM PAYING FOR THIS ROOM AND I WANT YOU TO GET YOUR A** OUT OF HERE AND DO NOT SHOW YOUR FACE AGAIN, THIS IS MY D*** ROOM." She had to go tell the supv so the cna's had to swith floors. Unfortunately she didn't get in trouble."
My best friend was recently in the hospital. He went in with sudden vision changes to find out that there was something abnormal on his CAT scan...the MD's told him either a brain tumor or vascular bleed. Turned out that it was a vascular bleed and he should be fine. Anyway that is not what I need advice for.
While we were in the hospital his nurse was VERY rude. I understand how stressful nursing can be but she was TOTALLY out of line. In no way did I or my friend do or say ANYTHING rude to her what so ever...in fact when she was being rude I totally bit my tongue...just wanted to be there for my friend.
ONE example (of many)...my friend told his nurse that he was feeling dizzy. Her response was...and I quote word for word "you are NOT dizzy, I took your blood pressure and it was fine. If you were dizzy your blood pressure would be high". Now I am just an SN but even I knew that was ridiculous as there thousands of reasons you can be dizzy...my friend who was in tears already just replied, "ok I guess im not".
Also my friend, who hadnt been in a hospital for 10 years or more, told his nurse (very calmly infact) that he was afraid of needles...her response was..."if you were afriad of needles, why did you come here?" Of course her tone was less than desirable. At this point my tongue was almost bleeding but I said nothing...then my friend asked if he could go out to have a cigarette...something I dont condone but alas its not my choice. Her response was (this was the first time he asked too) "I dont care what the hell you do". I understand that it is a liablity for her to let him get up so I, not her, had to explain that to him.
I guess I was just very disapointed in her....I don't like that she treated my friend that way, especailly when he was sooo vulnerable! I'm torn, my friend has asked me what I would do if I were him, and honestly I don't know. Is this something that I should report or not? If she treated my friend this way (and he wasnt a confrontational pt at all) how does she treat other patients??? I know everyone has bad days but does this condone her behavior? I dont want to disrespect or make harsh judgments or anything so I am asking what you guys think is an appropriate action? Thanks, all advice is welcome.
How awful your friend endured that. The unfortunate part is this is probably her usual behaivior. I have had bad days and I never spoke to anyone that way. The unfortunate part is the time to act would have been when the treatment occurred. You should have stated that her tone and attitude were inappropiate and asked to speak to the charge nurse immediately. If you are uncomfortable with confrontation, you can always ask to speak with the nursing supervisor discreetly. I would have also documented the conversation and ensured it was delivered to the DON or manager. Without the documentation, the manager has little to respond to. What if your friend's dizziness was indicative of something serious and this nurse clearly ignored a key symptom, this is not just rude, it is negligent. Bad behaivior with an adult should be addressed the same as you would with a toddler -- at the time it occurred. Do not be afraid to confront poor nursing care, you don't just owe your friend, you owe the other patients who can't or don't speak up for themselves
How awful your friend endured that. The unfortunate part is this is probably her usual behaivior. I have had bad days and I never spoke to anyone that way. The unfortunate part is the time to act would have been when the treatment occurred. You should have stated that her tone and attitude were inappropiate and asked to speak to the charge nurse immediately. If you are uncomfortable with confrontation, you can always ask to speak with the nursing supervisor discreetly. I would have also documented the conversation and ensured it was delivered to the DON or manager. Without the documentation, the manager has little to respond to. What if your friend's dizziness was indicative of something serious and this nurse clearly ignored a key symptom, this is not just rude, it is negligent. Bad behaivior with an adult should be addressed the same as you would with a toddler -- at the time it occurred. Do not be afraid to confront poor nursing care, you don't just owe your friend, you owe the other patients who can't or don't speak up for themselves
RoxanRN
388 Posts
I glad his experience got better. If he is still in the hospital when you get this, I'd suggest to have a talk with the house supervisor before he leaves.
One of the very first signs of bleeding in the brain is altered levels of consciousness (confused, lethargic, somulant, unconscious). Other signs and symptoms can include a sudden onset of a severe headache (sometimes described as the worst headache ever - it well probably be similar to headaches he experienced with this episode), dizziness, inability to speak and/or comprehend what is being said, slurred speech, facial droop, weakness/numbness/tingling on one side of the body (or complete paralysis on one side), vision changes (blurred, double, vision field cuts (vertical or horizontal), or a combination of any or all of the symptoms. In short, you are looking for signs and symptoms of a stroke.