Is this a microcosm of what happens in nursing on a DAILY basis!?

[Spikey9001]

I hear this happens A LOT more than what is reported.

Video: Caught On Tape: Caretaker Abusing & Slapping 91 Year Old Woman! - Abuse to an elder

This is truly appalling and despicable. To think that a person that is in a position of so much trust and liability would so something so cruel... And I bet this said person had to go through a bunch of background checks and stuff just to get the job.

This just goes to show you can't trust anyone. I mean, what if that was your grandmother or someone you loved?

Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions.

[gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN]

I work in LTC, believe me when I say this is not the rule, but the exception. It is more common for us to be beat by our patients/residents than for us to beat them. And, NO we do NOT retaliate either at the time or after. Most of my charges have dementia or ALZ. they have no idea of what they are doing is wrong. Our CNAs and Nurses are very respectful and loving to thier patients, in fact most consider them part of thier families and treat them as they would thier own loved ones.

[cebollita]

I hope that woman doens't have any kids...

[Flying ICU RN]

They may not have been there everyday. You can set up a camera to switch on when there is motion, just like a voice-activated tape recorder.

Yes indeed you can, here apparently is a still shot from one of the earlier videos.

[OgopogoLPN, LPN, RN]

That was horrible and disturbing to watch

I hope that woman has dire consequences for her treatment of that poor resident. If I EVER saw a caregiver treating a resident like that, that would be their last day on the job.

[belgarion]

They may not have been there everyday. You can set up a camera to switch on when there is motion, just like a voice-activated tape recorder.

The other thought is that, painful though it might have been to wait, they may have wanted conclusive proof that this was more than just a one-time, out-of-character oops. By showing the pattern of abuse, they made certain the aide could not talk her way out of the accusation by saying "it only happened that one time," and walking away with just a slap on the wrist.[/quote]

The caption that accompanied the clip stated the video was made using a webcam and Skype. This implies that they had remote access.

Trying to build a case is no excuse to allow that level of abuse continue for SEVEN DAYS! Even the police would not allow that much abuse to occur to a totally helpless and apparently mentally incompetent individual just to make a stronger case.

I am certain the family originally set up the camera with the sole intent to find out what was going on and protect the patient. As cynical as this sounds, it is entirely possible that, once they saw what was really happening, the family also started thinking the more footage they had the bigger the lawsuit they could pursue against the facility. Sorry, but I'm a natural born cynic and in my experience money is a great motivator to put up with an intolerable situation for a possibly huge payoff.

[sunnycalifRN]

To the OP,

do you think that the video represents a microcosm of what happens in nursing? And, by the way, that caregiver was most likely not an RN, so maybe a better question would be, "Do you think this video is a microcosm of what happens in long-term care?"

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

Hmmmm......................where is the OP?