I'm sick of taking care of people who don't care

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I'm really feeling burnt out on taking care of people who are self destructive and have no interest in doing anything to make their lives and health better. I'm sick of a system that is like a big, enabling wet nurse to people who are going to go right back out and continue with all the bad habits again, only be back in the hospital to suck on more of the healthcare titty that puts them back together again so they can go out and continue to screw up their health some more. I'm sick of the total lack of responsibility I see every day I work.

I was talking to my stepbrother who is a chiropractor. His clients are a different group. They are interested in health maintenance and are motivated to improve their health through their own efforts. He's really doing something for people. I'm not. Sure, I have a good bedside manner and manage to connect with my patients and gain their trust. But basically I hate the American healthcare system totally and completely. At this point I'm a nurse only for the money.

Specializes in Surgery, Ambulatory, Cardiac Stepdown,.

I understand your frustration completely. That being said, why not take this as an opportunity or wake up call to look at how you can change your area of practice? Doing a job where you have to spend a lot of difficult hours doing something you just don't like anymore is a crappy way to have to live. :banghead:

It's one thing to vent and complain about being unhappy, but it's another thing entirely to muster the courage to make a change. In the long run, you would be doing not only yourself, but your coworkers and patients a huge favor.

The American health care system is not perfect that is for sure. However, you will have people like you describe in any healthcare system. The problem you are describing is not the system as much as your intolerance of what that means on a day to day basis as a clinical nurse. However, if you persist in staying put just for the money, I am sure that you will find yourself becoming more and more miserable and less and less helpful to those you could still reach.

So pull yourself up by the bootstraps and investigate other areas of practice that you might be better suited to do. Not everyone has the stamina and tolerance to be at the bedside forever.

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Also kelliegrl I know you may believe that you have tried so hard to educate Mr.300lb diabetic but I would bet that you are probably wrong. I have a RN friend who got type II diabetes and most of the stuff she truly understands about the illness she had to do indepth research to find out, not something she learned from the nurses at the hospital or her doctor. Which just says to me that we as nurses are not given the indepth education we need to know to help our patients understand their illness and in all probability if your floor is as busy as mine you probably only have enough time to say approx 5 sentences to your patient all shift. Both of those instances do not lead to patient comprehension. Second diabetics have a very high instance of depression. I don't know if you have ever had major depression but if not then you can not really appriciate their lack of hope and motivation. Why don't you try to get them a psych consult and on some meds before you teach them something? It may help a great deal.

It's true that depression can be a part of it, but come on, the majority of these paitents don't even listen to th efive sentences we get out because they never plan on changing their lifestyle. I injured my back caring for a 300+ lb patient with bilateral amputations that had friends sneaking in the ding dongs. I heard a great thing fom a nurse I was shadowing a few weeks ago when a patient complained that he wasn't getting enough to eat (He said it hatefully as he was on the phone having his wife bring take-out). She told him that, "this hospital does not support your diabetes." I thought it was blunt and to the point, yet let him know that he was there to get on the road to wellness, not continue in his self-destructive behavior. These are people that have had multiple admissions for multiple problems secondary to their unhealthy llifestyle. They know what they need to do, and choose to ignore it. They won't listen to the psychiatrist either if it means putting down the twinkie!

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
It's true that depression can be a part of it, but come on, the majority of these paitents don't even listen to th efive sentences we get out because they never plan on changing their lifestyle. I injured my back caring for a 300+ lb patient with bilateral amputations that had friends sneaking in the ding dongs. I heard a great thing fom a nurse I was shadowing a few weeks ago when a patient complained that he wasn't getting enough to eat (He said it hatefully as he was on the phone having his wife bring take-out). She told him that, "this hospital does not support your diabetes." I thought it was blunt and to the point, yet let him know that he was there to get on the road to wellness, not continue in his self-destructive behavior. These are people that have had multiple admissions for multiple problems secondary to their unhealthy llifestyle. They know what they need to do, and choose to ignore it. They won't listen to the psychiatrist either if it means putting down the twinkie!

Feel better now?

May you never know what it is to walk in that 300-pound diabetic's overstressed shoes. It's nowhere near as simple as just "putting down the Twinkie".....and for that matter, one of the reasons some patients get sick enough to wind up in the hospital is the very real fear of cruelty by healthcare professionals. They let things go until a crisis results because they know what's waiting for them at the doctor's office: first the scales, then the judgmental tsk-tsking of the office staff and the lecture from the PCP.

Bullying is never appropriate, nor is it helpful. 'nuff said.:down:

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I can imagine how frustrating it must be to go to work like that...and how after the same routine you can become quite jaded. Have you considered volunteering to work for an organization that actually needs and will very much appreciate the health care you are able to provide? (I'm thinking something along the lines of Nurses Beyond Borders, the UNHCR, the Red Cross. Other NGOs that desperately need nurses and help in general in areas with major health disparaties, etc. Not necessairly even abroad, you can work in inner city areas here in the states.) Or maybe in oncology....

This situation is something I'd love to avoid getting myself into some where down the line. Please let me know if any of my suggestions help! (They are my solutions to avoid being jaded too.)

Amen, my friend. I just feel like, I'm keeping myself as healthy as I can. Why am I breaking my back for you, Mr. 350lbs-diabetic-still-eating-ding-dongs-won't-exercise-etc..? Why you? Because you have abused your body to the point that it is breaking down, you continue to abuse it, and for some reason you can't seem to comprehend that you are your own problem, despite the fact that I've tried to educate you about your medical issues. We can't fix you sir. You need to do it, at least as far as it's possible.

I love the education aspect of nursing. But when someone you've educated the last 3-4 times they were hospitalized about appropriate diet, importance of good blood sugar control, need for exercise, etc for their diabetes; comes in (again!) and says "No, no special diet. I eat whatever I want, and just give myself a few extra units of insulin", I want to beat my head against a wall. My paycheck is the only thing keeping me in this field at this point. And I HATE that. I'd really love to love my job again..

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Hyperglycemia actually causes hunger. The cells trigger the hunger mechanism because although there is tons of glucose in the blood it cannot get to the cells. This is a physiological condition not psychological. Take it from an overweight diabetic, there is nothing easy about putting down the twinkie....

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Hyperglycemia actually causes hunger. The cells trigger the hunger mechanism because although there is tons of glucose in the blood it cannot get to the cells. This is a physiological condition not psychological. Take it from an overweight diabetic, there is nothing easy about putting down the twinkie....

:bow::bow::bow:

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A lot of the posts on here (and on this board in general) horrify me. Is it any wonder that patients avoid treatment until they have acute problems?

The fact is, many healthcare professionals do not have the education or foresight or life experience to understand the issues that cause people to have different needs, access, or abilities for health. Yes, we all get burned out in caring positions. But there are more productive ways to vent than to judge and blame people for being fat or drunk or poor or whatever.

Thank god I'm skinny enough to buy a bag of chips without people tsk tsking at my grocery cart.

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A lot of the posts on here (and on this board in general) horrify me. Is it any wonder that patients avoid treatment until they have acute problems?

The fact is, many healthcare professionals do not have the education or foresight or life experience to understand the issues that cause people to have different needs, access, or abilities for health. Yes, we all get burned out in caring positions. But there are more productive ways to vent than to judge and blame people for being fat or drunk or poor or whatever.

Thank god I'm skinny enough to buy a bag of chips without people tsk tsking at my grocery cart.

This is a vent thread...

no one needs or wants your judgment...

Sure people are going of on patients but there are more productive ways to vent then getting all self righteous and judgmental. ;)

It would be nice to vent without people always tsk tsking you.

IMHO that is...

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Im with all the above. I think the insurance and medicaide system should look at our charting, about our patients non-compliance,with meds, treatments, therapies and diets, and refuse to pay for that day of their stay.

Hit the patients in the pocket-book, Ill bet I wont see the same people year after year, with a pressure sore that became amputation #1, then 2, then 3. Then they get rewarded with a mobile wheelchair, and we get sued for lettting the wound get out of hand, while the patients drinks their pepsi and eats a box of Russell Stover chocolate.Then blast me for not doing my job.

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This is a vent thread...

no one needs or wants your judgment...

Sure people are going of on patients but there are more productive ways to vent then getting all self righteous and judgmental. ;)

It would be nice to vent without people always tsk tsking you.

IMHO that is...

There are more productive ways to vent than to judge patients. Has it occurred to you (or anyone else) that some of the people on this board might be fat, or diabetic, or mentally ill, or poor, or have other barriers to healthcare?

My problem isn't so much the original poster's complaint but the responses it has ilicited.

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Specializes in LTC, Medical, Rehab, Psych.

Yeah, this is why I chose peds a number of years ago when I worked as a nutritionist. I'm still there as a nurse tech and I plan on staying on after graduation. The kids still have parents but they're typically a bit more motivated for their children. So it's easier to have hope. I stopped caring long ago about certain adult patient populations. I am actually someone who needs to feel that I'm actually helping in some way and this is the only thing I've found that works.

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Specializes in Operating Room.
That's BS. I go to the super market and see the lower income people buy beer, pop, chips, and other expensive items. That's a tired old argument.

As far as the predictable accusation of being judgmental; that, in itself, is judgmental.

What I see is a healthcare system that rewards irresponsible people. They do what they want and we all foot the bill. Look at octomom. There's no repercussions for her, nor for that stupid IVF doctor.

I see nothing wrong with calling it as it is. We need more tough love in this country with everyone. Our healthcare system needs to start emphasizing the responsibility aspect of the rights/responsibility code.

I agree with you...don't cry poverty or about the fact that you have to shell out a few bucks for your or your kids prescriptions and then buy yourself a carton of cigarettes and lottery tickets.

Yes, there are people who really are just uneducated/don't know better/don't have resources but there are plenty who don't care or doctor shop because theirs has told them the blunt truth(ie Lose 50 pounds, stop smoking, quit drinking etc).

And that Octomom chick? They should take those kids away from her, put them up for adoption, and force her to get her tubes tied. I find the whole situation obscene...humans aren't supposed to have litters.:banghead:

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