What does it mean when we wake up a sleeping, elderly, demented woman at 0300 in order to place a catheter in her bladder for a UA? When the woman is yelling and can't possibly understand what is going on or why? When in reality she is dying anyway? What is the point of waking people up at 0600 in order to give them a medication such as Prilosec or Synthroid (Tylenol?) - then telling them to "go back to sleep"? (This is done because pharmacy recommends med given at least one hour prior to eating - eating is done at 0700 for the convenience of the kitchen staff.) Where is the sense in placing a frail, 90 year old in an uncomfortable twin sized bed with a plastic covered mattress, in a room with three other people in the same condition? How enjoyable is life when you are hooked up to a feeding tube and cannot taste food or lie flat to sleep because it will kill you? Why must we send a person who is peacefully dying to the ER to undergo some more torture before they finally pass? Why, why why? Where is the gentleness?
The families are not present to see these things - they want "everything done" for their residents - everything except for comfort and dignity and peace. The "corporation" and management only care about what is done on paper, how it will look to the "state", and how many dollars are coming in and also how they can cut staff to the bone to decrease costs and increase their own bonuses. The doctors and nurses must go along with the program in order to not be sued.
I've worked in long term care a long, long time and there is nothing that is right about it and it is all so wrong! I am obviously going crazy at this point and it is obviously time to retire from this madness. Tell me, geriatric nurses, how do you endure?
