making fun of patients

[jaxm0mma]

i am currently doing an externship on l&d and maternity and often hear the nurses making fun of the patients. such as " omg shes 23 and on her 4th" or " wow shes too young to have children, she shouldnt have them at all let alone be on her second." is this they way most floors are run. Being a young mother myself this makes me uncomfortable and i would not want to return there to have children knowing i will be talked about. * shrugs*

[BBnurse34]

Despite what many of you say about doing very well as young mothers, would you want your daughter to become pregnant at a young age? Just because young women with fortitude are able to handle teen pregnancy doesn't make it a good thing.

Also, I have seen plenty of older multip's babies that I pitty.

[OBNURSEHEATHER]

Ahhh... good question BBnurse34.

Of course, I think no one WANTS or would encourage their daughter to have a child young. I would hope things would be different. Nobody said it was a good thing, so I hope that isn't what you think you've read here. Quite the opposite.

And it's not about the pity. Yes, dysfunctional parents come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages. This thread is about teenage parents.

Heather

[SmilingBluEyes]

Originally posted by OBNURSEHEATHER

Ahhh... good question BBnurse34.

Of course, I think no one WANTS or would encourage their daughter to have a child young. I would hope things would be different. Nobody said it was a good thing, so I hope that isn't what you think you've read here. Quite the opposite.

And it's not about the pity. Yes, dysfunctional parents come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages. This thread is about teenage parents.

Heather

Agree, Heather. Age alone is not a factor to me; at least not nearly as much as FUNCTIONALITY.....there are women MY age who are much more dysfunctional and will never get it together as well as many teen moms I have come to know.

[mark_LD_RN]

DAYRAY glad to see you are posting again:) I do not think you offended any one.

I am not to sure families don't encourage it sometimes. I have had young mothers in here 14 ,15 yrs old, and families are as happy as can be and talking about her next one! for goodnees sakes she is 14 in labor and all they can think about is her next baby. kinda makes me wonder. what about you?

[mother/babyRN, RN]

They are people first whatever their circumstances or ages.. We all do the best we can...But yes Mark, it does bother me when families are talking about the next baby when the one that just arrived often doesn't have a chance in the world to develop his or her potential. I know it sounds as though we are all jaded, but we have been through it so often. Nurses are people too, and defensive mechanisms don't escape you just because nursing is your chosen profession....

[moonshadeau, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN, APN, NP, CNS]

In my hosptial, I had the pleasure of having interships on the l&d ward as well as being a surgical patient on the same floor. I did encounter both times in a professional and patient setting that the nurses did talk badly about the patients. I give enormous credit to anyone who could do l&d, because I certainly cannot. I know that this is an isolated setting. But my limited experience is so bad that I beg my husband every day to have our first child due next summer in another hospital. I would rather go to a hosptial 2 hours away than have it in the same hospital I work in.

my 2 cents anyway.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Kinda like what ya hear in ER, huh? NOW THERE IS THE PLACE I DO NOT WANT TO GO IN MY PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT...you wanna hear sarcastic, crude, rude humor.???! But I DO UNDERSTAND where it COMES from........high burnout rates follow in some cases, so defense mechanisms are in place. It's about being appropriate and remembering these ARE human beings we are caring for no matter HOW distasteful they or their situations may be.

[mother/babyRN, RN]

In my case, I wanted to deliver in my own hospital because I knew and trusted the ability of the nurses. Even in circumstances when people have " made fun" of patients, I knew and know they would move heaven and hell to take care of these people and give them a safe outcome. I don't believe there is ANY hospital or like setting on the planet where this doesn't happen. My only drawback was that people could check all my records, but, since I didn't care if they knew how much I weighed or what my allergies were, it made no difference to me....It was worth it to be able to have my own doc even though he wasn't on call, to hand pick the anesthesiologist I knew had the best ability, and have just about every nurse in the unit, there for my delivery. Kind of like family...But, we are like that from the docs, to the lab to respiratory....Luckily for me....