Jaded...Not sure aboug NS after recent hospital stay..LONG

[MammaNurse2Be]

Hi everyone,

So unsure about medicine these days!

At the beginning of November, I was dx with H1N1 which then turned to double pneumonia. Which turned to a four day hospital stay. Then another four day hospital stay. Out of all of the nurses I had, only about 2 were worth a flip!

As sick as I was, I was constantly having to stop them before they gave me something to ask what it was, why i needed it, and the possible side effects. Most were so irritated at me for this slow down.

For one, over the summer, I had a horrible reaction to cipro. Can I tell you how many times I had to say NO FLOROQUINILONES during this stay!!! They did put it on my band, but I still had to double check before they hung anything because at one point a levaquin bag was coming my way. I haven't even been to NS-but remember my drugs from micro.

They hung rosephin and azythromycin at the same time and i had a horrible reaction to that- red rash up arm at iv site then heart rate up to 160. Oh it is the rosephin they say. How do you know it wasn't the other? Blew me off and said i just do.

Bringing me stool softeners without asking if i need it----"No thank you, i poop regardless 2x a day". No, but you need it. "no But I DO NOT need it!"

Me ringing at 9 or 10 at night asking if i could take my birthcontrol pill so i could try to fall asleep and 1 hour and 15 minutes later and 2 calls from me having her huff in and give me the pill.

Having the nurse tell me to not ask her questions while she was rearranging my iv tubing on the pole! Really, can you not handle arranging tubing and talking to your patient?

At one point the dr came in and said they were putting me on Metoprolol for the high heart rate but intially he had put verapamil in the chart. he went to change the order and the nurse came in and said i am going to get you the verapimil and I said "oh the dr just left and changed the orders to metoprolol and she said well i am bringing the verapamil because i have the orders right here. I said you can bring it but i won't take it because he JUST CHANGED IT TO METOPROLOL!! Go check my chart. duh!!!

Dr that discharged me first time also said here is your rx for levaquin for four pills. I said, do you see my band. I am allergic. He said levaquin doesn't effect your heartrate and other effect you had? Huh? Did you go to med school? It certainly can and I am not taking it. Didn't say all that just not taking it asked for something else and he said no. left hospital and didn;t take other antibiotic. Also asked if was going to give me beta blocker as i had been on in hospital-no go see your cardiologist he says.

A few days later my dr sent me back ER for high bp and heartrate. Guess what they gave me. Another azythromyicin bc they said it was atypical pneuomina. Went home again and sick all night with shakes, heart rate through the rough, weakness, tremors, and ended up transported via ambulance to another hospital. Wouldn't transfer to my original hospital because I wasn't stable enough. So that is where the next four days comes into play. My lungs were actually clear of pneumonia and they said i should never have been given another antibiotic. Then started reacting to everything--zophran, levanox even chex mix and gatorade gave me welts on my throat. I said PLEASE QUIT medicating me!! My system can't handle it.

After starting metoprolol i started coughing and wheezing so much i thought i'd die. Yep side effect is induced asthma which I am susceptible to after pneumonia. What do they want to do but add more meds-cough medicine, steriod inhalers, even antihistamine. I refused especially since my lungs showed clear of pneumonia. Cardiologist reduced blocker to barely anything- 12.5 1 x a day but still coughing so he wanted me off it for a week to see if coughing stopped. Mostly but still get attacks on occasion with white frothy mucucs and trying to walk around in a zen state to keep heartrate down which is high 90s before my feet even hit the ground.

My dr tells me I have to manage my own care like i have been doing-giving me kudos for this and that and then I say,"why do i have a dr then?" I haven't been to medical schoo or NS for that matter and it is only because I am smart and on the ball that things haven't completely gone off track. I then ask when i should have liver function retested as my liver enzymes were high in hospital and they said to repeat it. Oh, she says and reads discharge sheet again where it states clearly to follow these and she says thanks for catching that-how about dec 15?

To top it off, my PPO insurance sends me a letter telling me the 2nd hospital stay will cost more bc the hospital is out of network. Well, since it is the only hospital in my town, and since the ambulance refused to take me anywhere else, wouldn't that be cause for consideration???? Isn't that why i pay the big bucks for good insurance??

I am so flipping confused. i have pursued this dream for so many years and now I just don't know if this is the way for me.

I thought nurses were supposed to educate patients on what they were getting and why? I thought they should respond to questions about lab tests-not provide dx but tell me when i asked what was my potassium level if you say i need potassium? It is my body for goodness sakes!

ok, end of tirade. I needed to vent badly. Excuse grammer errors. I typed fast and furious.

Thanks for reading this far if you have.

[K nurse-one-day]

I don't understand why the misgivings of other nurses at the hospital you went to would make you not want to go to Nursing School. If those nurses were really as bad as you say, wouldn't you want to become the best nurse possible so you could help people and no one would have to experience a situation similar to yours? Maybe you should contact the nurse manager or a higher-up in the hospital and inform them about your experience.

My situation was the complete oppssite of yours. I WANT to become a nurse because of a hospital stay I had. Giving birth to my daughter was the greatest experience of my life. I remember everything about that day. The drive there, the room number of the room I stayed in, and the name of every nurse that took care of me. It was an awesome stay and I know that without the fantastic nursing staff, it wouldn't have been possible. now I want to do that for people. i wanna help with and be a part of the greatest day in someones life. Ultimatly it is up to you but I would hate to hear that you gave up on a dream because of the poor time you had in your hospital stay

[babe48076]

This will be your chance to make a difference. If anything it should make you want to pursue it more. Nursing is about assessing and educating. It seems that those nurses failed both. I would take that experience as a learning experience and try to be the best nurse you can be.

[thinwildmercury]

i agree with the above posters. i actually decided to pursue nursing after a relative's hospital stay. my aunt gave birth to a micro-preemie and my visits there were amazing. the nurses were wonderful. i am sorry you had this experience but if you become a nurse, you will be much more understanding about these things, when a patient asks a questions and you have had a long day, you can remember to yourself how you felt when you had these terrible nurses :) i hope this doesn't make you quit

[newbebop, ADN, BSN, MSN]

Our instructor tells us to use examples like that as our motivation to become better nurses. And for the ones who doubt themselves to look at these examples and think, "if they can become nurses, I can do this!". She said her personal mentor was one of the worst nurses she had ever encountered. It was great motivation. ;-)

[tfleuter, BSN, RN]

Even beyond just becoming a better nurse, I would think that experience would motivate me to get involved in some form of healthcare so that I could learn the knowledge I needed to protect myself! Look at how much you were able to do just from one microbiology class! Sometimes doctors, nurses and anyone else can fail us, but the more you know, the safer you are. Just my feelings about anyways. Sorry you had such a terrible experience.

[MammaNurse2Be]

Thanks guys, i just needed to vent. i have had a rough month and i am sure in a few weeks the whole thing will be a distant memory. It is like when you put someone on a pedestal and then realize they are human too. I just happened to see the bad side of a system that I know has good parts. I'm just bummed about seeing it and being on the receiving end. Maybe i could go into patient advocacy!

[CrunchyMama, ASN, RN]

WOW!! But please don't let this sway you. Good luck!

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

This is why you continue to go to school, so you can give a future pt. a different experience!

[Scooter321]

... I'm just bummed about seeing it and being on the receiving end. Maybe i could go into patient advocacy!

Yeah, what they all said. Don't let it put you off. Oh, and as a good nurse, you will already be in patient advocacy.

[CRIMSON]

As for the ER visit. You can call your PPO and request "an exception for this hospital to be reimbursed at the higher in network rate based on emergent care". There is a provision in every PPO for this reason.

[inshallamiami]

welcome to nursing.