Is this nurse in the wrong?

ergoddess · Dec 22, 2012

The yelling, arguing & condescending tone are completely out of line. However, I like being honest with my pts. It sounds as if the truth could have been work tactfully expressed. :) just two cents!

eatmysoxRN, ASN, RN · Dec 22, 2012

Maybe she was having a bad day? However, that's no reason for her to be disrespectful toward a patient, delusional or whatever. You could call and speak with the nurse or another person in management to express your concerns. Best wishes for your brother. Many people don't take mental health issues seriously enough.

liveyourlife747 · Dec 22, 2012

She shouldn't have fought with him. I agree that the pt has the right to know why they are in the hospital, but this should be done in private (not at the nurses station or hallway) in a non threatening way. Psych is a hard area, but nurses need to remember that the Pts feelings/delusions are real for the pt and it should not be argued over.

lovingtheunloved, ASN, RN · Dec 22, 2012

It's crazy to try to argue with a crazy person. I think psych nurses can get to a point where everything is just routine to them, they see this stuff all the time, and forget that to the patient, this is all very real, and usually very painful and distressing. I think the nurse that was caring for your brother needs a career change. Shame on her for treating a patient that way.

marydc · Dec 22, 2012

Yes, I would have told him why he was there. Honesty is important and it is his right to know. As others have said it needs to be done in an empathetic, respectful and tactful way.

It's also important when teaching the patient about their diagnosis to look at where they are in their treatment. Start with simple facts and build on that. More specific and clinical terms should wait until they have progressed to where the symptoms are better controlled.

MrChicagoRN, RN · Dec 22, 2012

It's hard to tell without knowing the full context of the conversation. Sometimes patients ask the same question many times, and denying the answer each time. Maybe this was the end point of that. However, loud and condescending is not appropriate. It is perfectly appropriate to ask to speak to the manager or administrator for the unit to discuss your concerns. But be aware that confidentiality is very strict, and while the manager may investigate, the response that you receive may be somewhat non-specific.

olddragger · Dec 22, 2012

This nurse needs some education in how to react to an agitated patient and how to not confort a psychiatric patient in a non therapeutic way. Confrontation can be therapeutic but it has to be done within the proper context and environment--for example in a therapeutic group meeting.

She was wrong plain and simple. You are fortunate that you have the opportunity to learn from this event.

I would bring my concerns to the Nursing Director concerning this nurse in a constructive way. The Nurse simply may not know how to handle a situation such as the one you described.

Kudos to you for you support of your brother. He is lucky to have a brother that cares for him.

jess06cutie · Dec 23, 2012

You have the right to request that nurse not care for ur brother, and or he can request, I also would file a complaint bc it seems like the nurse was out of line!

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Dec 23, 2012

She was correct in being honest with him, as he does have the legal right to know why he is in the facility. Mind you, exactly how she tells him should always be tweaked to the immediate situation...but no matter what his condition is, he has the legal right to know. However, her attitude and tone, as well as trying to foist medications on him when he didn't want them, was not appropriate.

Since all we know is your side of the story, it's possible that things were out of taken out of context. However, you can (and definitely should) file a complaint if you feel that the nurse was acting inappropriately. Be as neutral as possible when stating the facts, because I'll be honest with you: in psych we find that for a variety of reasons, the family is often far more difficult to deal with than the patient. So I'm trying to help you here when I say that staying calm and sticking to the facts when filing the complaint will go a lot further towards advocating for your brother than shrieking like a banshee and throwing out the "student nurse" card.

However as others have said, because of patient confidentiality don't expect to be kept abreast of every single development in the complaint process. And the request for a change of nurse would be taken more seriously if he makes it, since ultimately it's he and not you who is the patient.

I hope everything works out.

Novo · Dec 24, 2012

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've decided to not take any action against the nurse for now. I visit him nearly everyday and I haven't seen her yet but if I do I'll speak to her directly before escalating anything.

mariebailey, MSN, RN · Dec 24, 2012

I'm glad you are giving it some thought. This may not be your situation...I am merging my experience as a nurse and family member here. Sometimes family members are angry at the situation (rightfully so), & they misdirect their anger toward the provider of care. The provider of care can't really do anything right, as the angry family member of the patient will pick them apart in an effort to make right what is wrong with their loved one.