I don't mean to complain..

Published

I've been a nurse for a little over a year now. They say we all get into nursing because we have the need to serve and care.. I thought nursing would be a fulfilling job. I wanted to have a meaningful job. I wanted to find purpose.

I hate my job. I hate nursing.

I've been working in a hospital on a telemetry unit for 7 months.

I feel my intelligence is slowly fading. I almost cried the other night because one of my patients actually said thank you- that is how rare hearing those words are. How screwed up is this? My night revolves around refilling water, taking patients to the bathroom, getting extra blankets, filling up cups with "just the right" amount of ice and fluffing pillows. I'm lucky if I get a chance to look at labs, critically think, and evaluate the care plan. I'm overwhelmed.

I feel as nurses, we have done this to ourselves. We have entitled our patients to some sort of gratification; and we have no choice because we are micromanaged and everything is money related. Managers round and only care about patient satisfaction; compared to their actual health care outcomes. What can we do about this? I've thought about leaving the profession because nurses are treated like dirt. Because I don't get the respect I deserve, as a human being, let alone as a health care provider.

Are there any other nurses that feel this way? Are there any nurses that feel completely swamped, down in the dirt, and have to drag themselves to work? I get anxiety just thinking about the night ahead when I do have work. What have you done? What can I do? I need some advice because I feel completely lost and I'm about to abandon ship.

Originally, my complaint wasn't that I have to get water, change blankets etc all night- that wasn't my complaint. My complaint is that, for instance, last night I had a patient tell me she needed help into bed, then got into bed by herself, pulled the covers up, and was happy. I literally STOOD there, and watched her. I asked her if she needed anything else, and she said no. I turned off her lights, went to sit down to chart, then .. BOOOOP, her call light again. Needs more water. Anything else? no? again.. BOOOOP, I need the tv off. Remind her where the green button is on the call light to handle the TV. At my job, like I said, management daily rounds and asks about patient satisfaction- never how they feel their health care needs are being managed. This is not just a single isolation event- almost every night I'm found answering call lights for small things that could be managed by an aide.

But, Anna knows what my posts meant. I think she understood where I was coming from. I have great help with my other nurses, but at times, it gets too busy and patients don't always understand that I have OTHER patients that are more pertinent to my attention, and then complain the next day to my manager.

Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.

Honestly it seems to be a characteristic of the user pays system.

Universal healthcare here and one positive, the managers havent got into that whole customer service angle. We are there to nurse, no be waitresses

I know what you meant.

Honestly it seems to be a characteristic of the user pays system.

Universal healthcare here and one positive, the managers havent got into that whole customer service angle. We are there to nurse, no be waitresses

It's partly due to "user pays", but really it's Medicare (Federally funded health insurance for people over 65 and people with disabilities) that bases reimbursements to hospitals for services provided partly on patient satisfaction scores- so it's mostly that, since Medicare dollars make up a significant portion of the revenue of many hospitals.

In some parts of the country, where there are many hospitals clustered in close proximity, then patient satisfaction scores are important in drawing people to YOUR hospital. If Hospital X down the road has a really good reputation and gets really good patient satisfaction scores, then people are going to choose Hospital X down the road.

But mostly it's because of Medicare.

Was Re: blackvans Libby, sorry for the confusion

Medicare..... Ugh.....

:arghh:

"How screwed up is this? My night revolves around refilling water, taking patients to the bathroom, getting extra blankets, filling up cups with "just the right" amount of ice and fluffing pillows."

Its screwed up that you think the above things don't matter.

Patients remember the little things.

If that's all I had to do for $30 per hour, I'd be elated...let me warm that blanket for you!

Specializes in Infusion Nursing, Home Health Infusion.

OK I see now! You have a job to do and that is assess, monitor and report, pass medications,manage IVs,get patients ready for tests and surgeries and everything else a nurse does. The hospital does not want to lose ANY percentage of their Medicare reimbursement dollars so the patient and family must be satisfied. A great majority of the time what you need to do or accomplish conflicts with what makes the patients satisfied even if they know it is for their own benefit. It may even conflict with what you perceive your job to be but I am telling you.... it is part of your job.

What satisfies a patient and/or family member is OFTEN not a priority for you but it is for them. They do not care if you need to hang a dose of Vancomycin in the next room so your trough will be accurate when they are thirsty and have no water. They can only see it from their perspective. In reality it is challenge to do both, get the job done and try to keep your patients satisfied.

So it helps to know from a patient perspective what makes them feel taken care of and you need to be perceptive enough to figure that out when they may not even be able to succinctly verbalize it. Take for example your patient that kept calling you back in the room for things she truly did not need. What she most likely wanted was attention. I would have given her some...asked her how she was feeling today and if she slept well last night and is she having any problems with sleeping tonight...ask her if she wants any extra juice or a warm blanket...then reassure her you will be checking on her every hour.

The things that keep patients satisfied are mostly creature comforts. People want to feel safe and comfortable and out of pain and not stressed or scared or anxious. Yes! that is part of your job too....to assess and treat the whole patient from a holistic viewpoint, If you can preeminently plan for the needs you will be way ahead of the game and it may free you up to get all those other tasks accomplished . You can even multitask and do this at the same time with many tasks. During your first assessment ask the patient what you can do during your shift to make their stay more comfortable....most people will tell you. I used to do this all the time...people would tell me all kinds of things. Some were I can't sleep if my feet are covered.... I have a low pain tolerance so I need my medication on time....I always need a lot of ice in my water.....I cant sleep if I am cold....I am afraid I will fall if I get up alone.

If you do that one thing and follow through I bet your patients will soon stop complaining. What would you need if you were in a hospital bed feeling sick and dependent. Picture yourself there..I sure know what I would want. I don't remember that my abx was hung on time or when my vitals were done..I remember the nurses who took the time to keep me comfortable and out of pain and listened to me.

There is the conflict....their agenda and our agenda as nurses are not always the same and we place a different priority on things. They also have no idea all the things we are juggling. They are just one patient in a bed wanting and needing nursing and medical care. Part of this is just pure acceptance that it is part of your job. Just accept it and realize all those little things are really important to the patient.

Get creative too...fill 2 water pitchers for thirsty patients..on a cold night put an extra blanket on the foot of the bed...keep your patients out of pain....have kleenex always ready....make sure urinal is in reach..make sure pt can reach what they need and check it before leaving the room.....make sure curtain and door are the way they like it...one of my favorite things to do and still is.....is to get that patient as comfortable as they can be

Specializes in ICU.

I am getting pretty sick of overly demanding people, too. Had an experience this weekend that made me resentful - I was on vacation and walking through a very old cemetery. I think I saw one person's tombstone who lived to be in his/her 60s in that particular cemetery - the vast majority of tombstones were for people between 22-40, and then the second biggest chunk of tombstones was for people under 2. It's amazing to me how we are taking such good care of people that they are living into their 80s and 90s with multiple comorbidities when it was pretty common to die at 34 only a couple hundred years ago, and they are so ungrateful and hateful to us.

I mean, heck - I thank my waitress at a restaurant and smile at her, and her actions are probably not going to seriously affect my health while I am sitting at one of her tables. I still remember the one and only time I was rude to somebody who was helping me - it was at a McDonald's drive through back in 2009 and I am still a little regretful that I was snippy with that cashier. I went back and found her later and profusely apologized. How difficult is it really to be polite to someone who could actually save your life? I think more people ought to walk through some of those older cemeteries and think about how far healthcare has come and how they are likely alive because of the care they have received from their physicians/nurses over the course of their lives, and maybe be just a little more grateful. It is amazing how entitled people are.

I am getting pretty sick of overly demanding people, too. Had an experience this weekend that made me resentful - I was on vacation and walking through a very old cemetery. I think I saw one person's tombstone who lived to be in his/her 60s in that particular cemetery - the vast majority of tombstones were for people between 22-40, and then the second biggest chunk of tombstones was for people under 2. It's amazing to me how we are taking such good care of people that they are living into their 80s and 90s with multiple comorbidities when it was pretty common to die at 34 only a couple hundred years ago, and they are so ungrateful and hateful to us.

I mean, heck - I thank my waitress at a restaurant and smile at her, and her actions are probably not going to seriously affect my health while I am sitting at one of her tables. I still remember the one and only time I was rude to somebody who was helping me - it was at a McDonald's drive through back in 2009 and I am still a little regretful that I was snippy with that cashier. I went back and found her later and profusely apologized. How difficult is it really to be polite to someone who could actually save your life? I think more people ought to walk through some of those older cemeteries and think about how far healthcare has come and how they are likely alive because of the care they have received from their physicians/nurses over the course of their lives, and maybe be just a little more grateful. It is amazing how entitled people are.

i know what you're saying but when you're sick/afraid/in pain it's difficult to appreciate our healthcare system and being vulnerable to it any more than how those of us who work in it.

OK I see now! You have a job to do and that is assess, monitor and report, pass medications,manage IVs,get patients ready for tests and surgeries and everything else a nurse does. The hospital does not want to lose ANY percentage of their Medicare reimbursement dollars so the patient and family must be satisfied. A great majority of the time what you need to do or accomplish conflicts with what makes the patients satisfied even if they know it is for their own benefit. It may even conflict with what you perceive your job to be but I am telling you.... it is part of your job.

What satisfies a patient and/or family member is OFTEN not a priority for you but it is for them. They do not care if you need to hang a dose of Vancomycin in the next room so your trough will be accurate when they are thirsty and have no water. They can only see it from their perspective. In reality it is challenge to do both, get the job done and try to keep your patients satisfied.

So it helps to know from a patient perspective what makes them feel taken care of and you need to be perceptive enough to figure that out when they may not even be able to succinctly verbalize it. Take for example your patient that kept calling you back in the room for things she truly did not need. What she most likely wanted was attention. I would have given her some...asked her how she was feeling today and if she slept well last night and is she having any problems with sleeping tonight...ask her if she wants any extra juice or a warm blanket...then reassure her you will be checking on her every hour.

The things that keep patients satisfied are mostly creature comforts. People want to feel safe and comfortable and out of pain and not stressed or scared or anxious. Yes! that is part of your job too....to assess and treat the whole patient from a holistic viewpoint, If you can preeminently plan for the needs you will be way ahead of the game and it may free you up to get all those other tasks accomplished . You can even multitask and do this at the same time with many tasks. During your first assessment ask the patient what you can do during your shift to make their stay more comfortable....most people will tell you. I used to do this all the time...people would tell me all kinds of things. Some were I can't sleep if my feet are covered.... I have a low pain tolerance so I need my medication on time....I always need a lot of ice in my water.....I cant sleep if I am cold....I am afraid I will fall if I get up alone.

If you do that one thing and follow through I bet your patients will soon stop complaining. What would you need if you were in a hospital bed feeling sick and dependent. Picture yourself there..I sure know what I would want. I don't remember that my abx was hung on time or when my vitals were done..I remember the nurses who took the time to keep me comfortable and out of pain and listened to me.

There is the conflict....their agenda and our agenda as nurses are not always the same and we place a different priority on things. They also have no idea all the things we are juggling. They are just one patient in a bed wanting and needing nursing and medical care. Part of this is just pure acceptance that it is part of your job. Just accept it and realize all those little things are really important to the patient.

Get creative too...fill 2 water pitchers for thirsty patients..on a cold night put an extra blanket on the foot of the bed...keep your patients out of pain....have kleenex always ready....make sure urinal is in reach..make sure pt can reach what they need and check it before leaving the room.....make sure curtain and door are the way they like it...one of my favorite things to do and still is.....is to get that patient as comfortable as they can be

I resonate with this post and I see that you work in home health like me. I think it makes a huge difference. When we sit at our staff and team meetings, very few complaints about the patients or the care we have to provide.

I catch patients who seem to perceive me as *their* nurse on my busier and stressful days. Of course they do and that's what I want. I build this trusting relationship, it's not on them to worry about me or any other patients, this is their experience. If I'm overly busy or stressed with my workload, that's either an occasional situational or a systems problem. With inpatient, if you need an aide that isn't provided to meet the work demands, that's a system's problem. But since you can't change the system or convince your employer otherwise, the patient is blamed and resented.

It's the employer that assigns these patients and expects their demands be met while stretching you thin. The patient isn't the one who will terminate you for not being able to perform to your employer's standards under the staffing your employer puts you in.

OK I see now! You have a job to do and that is assess, monitor and report, pass medications,manage IVs,get patients ready for tests and surgeries and everything else a nurse does. The hospital does not want to lose ANY percentage of their Medicare reimbursement dollars so the patient and family must be satisfied. A great majority of the time what you need to do or accomplish conflicts with what makes the patients satisfied even if they know it is for their own benefit. It may even conflict with what you perceive your job to be but I am telling you.... it is part of your job.

What satisfies a patient and/or family member is OFTEN not a priority for you but it is for them. They do not care if you need to hang a dose of Vancomycin in the next room so your trough will be accurate when they are thirsty and have no water. They can only see it from their perspective. In reality it is challenge to do both, get the job done and try to keep your patients satisfied.

So it helps to know from a patient perspective what makes them feel taken care of and you need to be perceptive enough to figure that out when they may not even be able to succinctly verbalize it. Take for example your patient that kept calling you back in the room for things she truly did not need. What she most likely wanted was attention. I would have given her some...asked her how she was feeling today and if she slept well last night and is she having any problems with sleeping tonight...ask her if she wants any extra juice or a warm blanket...then reassure her you will be checking on her every hour.

The things that keep patients satisfied are mostly creature comforts. People want to feel safe and comfortable and out of pain and not stressed or scared or anxious. Yes! that is part of your job too....to assess and treat the whole patient from a holistic viewpoint, If you can preeminently plan for the needs you will be way ahead of the game and it may free you up to get all those other tasks accomplished . You can even multitask and do this at the same time with many tasks. During your first assessment ask the patient what you can do during your shift to make their stay more comfortable....most people will tell you. I used to do this all the time...people would tell me all kinds of things. Some were I can't sleep if my feet are covered.... I have a low pain tolerance so I need my medication on time....I always need a lot of ice in my water.....I cant sleep if I am cold....I am afraid I will fall if I get up alone.

If you do that one thing and follow through I bet your patients will soon stop complaining. What would you need if you were in a hospital bed feeling sick and dependent. Picture yourself there..I sure know what I would want. I don't remember that my abx was hung on time or when my vitals were done..I remember the nurses who took the time to keep me comfortable and out of pain and listened to me.

There is the conflict....their agenda and our agenda as nurses are not always the same and we place a different priority on things. They also have no idea all the things we are juggling. They are just one patient in a bed wanting and needing nursing and medical care. Part of this is just pure acceptance that it is part of your job. Just accept it and realize all those little things are really important to the patient.

Get creative too...fill 2 water pitchers for thirsty patients..on a cold night put an extra blanket on the foot of the bed...keep your patients out of pain....have kleenex always ready....make sure urinal is in reach..make sure pt can reach what they need and check it before leaving the room.....make sure curtain and door are the way they like it...one of my favorite things to do and still is.....is to get that patient as comfortable as they can be

Yes, this is all very true- BUT there are times when you do have to prioritize, and you CAN say "No" or "You will have to wait" in ways that are respectful and let the person feel cared about. Without enough help and support, that is what this nurse needs to learn to do. We simply cannot be all things to all people, be everywhere all at once, and meet every single need immediately. Learning how to convey a caring attitude while also prioritizing what is going to kill your patient first is a skill that can take some time to hone.

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