Me... Me... Me: A Sense of Entitlement

Nurses Rock Toon

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We've all seen this type of patient. They start out in the ER insisting that they be seen first because no one else could be in as much need of medical attention as them. This behavior carries over to the floor once they've been admitted. They want it, and they want it NOW. What are some experiences you've had with such privileged characters?

Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
mhy12784 said:
I really didnt give anyone a hard time at all.

I simply said there are plenty of nurses who act just as entitled as some patients.

Which is what this thread is about

No. The thread is about having to deal with entitled patients. It's a vent thread so please don't give us a hard time for venting. It's how we're able to take care of our patients and do our job to the best of our ability.

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
mhy12784 said:
Not to interrupt the pity party

But how many nurses are there with the same attitude in the OP

Talking about how horrible and tough their job is, and how they have to care for all these damn sick people.

All the while their patients usually have it 1000 times worse than they do.

Heh! This ain't no pity party! It's 'war stories' from the trenches!

EVERY profession has to be able to squawk and laugh. Service to "The Public" can be extremely stressful and you have to find relief and release somewhere with others who KNOW what you are talking about. You should sit in on law officers during their bull-sessions. Teachers, too.

That doesn't mean they aren't dedicated and it doesn't mean they don't love what they do or those in their sphere and influence.

I would bet you every person on this thread has felt many times the need to cry about and for the unfair things their sick patients have had and are having to go through.

But you have to know there are always two sides to every coin.

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
mhy12784 said:
I really didnt give anyone a hard time at all.

I simply said there are plenty of nurses who act just as entitled as some patients.

Which is what this thread is about

Besides which, after you've been in the profession longer, you also will feel 'entitled' to gripe and vent

There are a LOT of completely legitimate things to complain about in the field today, and I'm not talking about snarky little hissy-fits. There are threads for and about all those things on AN.

Here, we are rolling our eyes :sarcastic:, that's all.

Lighten up.

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Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.
mhy12784 said:
Not to interrupt the pity party

But how many nurses are there with the same attitude in the OP

Talking about how horrible and tough their job is, and how they have to care for all these damn sick people.

All the while their patients usually have it 1000 times worse than they do.

Well, there are sick people, and then there are Really Sick People. The sick people have never seen the a Really Sick People, and we have, so we are impervious to your criticism.

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Specializes in Med Surg.

What always amazes me is that the actual Really Sick People and their families tend to be the nicest, easiest to work with, while the not so sick can be PITAs.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
Aurora77 said:
What always amazes me is that the actual Really Sick People and their families tend to be the nicest, easiest to work with, while the not so sick can be PITAs.

Yep, the family member dying of cancer or puking up blood are usually sweet and don't want to be a bother. Then you have the pt who comes in by ambulance every month for her menses, sigh.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
mhy12784 said:
Of course they do, im not judging (well ok I totally am, but more so people ive seen in the real world than this actual thread)

Im more so talking about some of the things I see at work (yes im very well aware that everyone/every hospital is different)

Ive seen nurses get upset when they dont get their first break till 10/1030 am !! And the complaining about management seems to be universal in healthcare (far worse than I ever saw in the business world, and that I see just as much here as elsewhere)

(I do work as a nurse, but only for about a year, so im very much still a sunshiner. And I realize that)

Its just tough entering a field and being optimistic/making the most of it, when there are so many burnt out people around you complaining VERY frequently.

How can you make a culture more positive, when it thrives on negativity?

I wouldnt be surprised if the negatives of nursing get talked about by nurses at LEAST 10x more than the positives. I know that all jobs get that, but that doesnt make it good

How do you make a culture more positive? By learning to see the humour in every situation. That's what this thread is. When people vent to one another, they are more able to start seeing the funny side. But every thread has its self-righteous goody two shoes who's busy being "positive".

Hopefully when you get past being a "sunshiner" you too will develop a sense of humour. No one creates more negativity than the person who is holier-than-thou. I was actually enjoying this thread until I got to the ubiquitous diatribe.

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No Stars In My Eyes said:
What worries me is that the Little MiL Who Cries Wolf will one day REALLY experience something life altering. It will be on her grave, like that old joke, "I TOLD you I was sick!"

As one of my favorite old docs used to say, "If you wake up every morning and say, I'm dying, one day you'll be right."

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mhy12784 said:
Of course they do, im not judging (well ok I totally am, but more so people ive seen in the real world than this actual thread)

Im more so talking about some of the things I see at work (yes im very well aware that everyone/every hospital is different)

Ive seen nurses get upset when they dont get their first break till 10/1030 am !! And the complaining about management seems to be universal in healthcare (far worse than I ever saw in the business world, and that I see just as much here as elsewhere)

(I do work as a nurse, but only for about a year, so im very much still a sunshiner. And I realize that)

Its just tough entering a field and being optimistic/making the most of it, when there are so many burnt out people around you complaining VERY frequently.

How can you make a culture more positive, when it thrives on negativity?

I wouldnt be surprised if the negatives of nursing get talked about by nurses at LEAST 10x more than the positives. I know that all jobs get that, but that doesnt make it good

May I suggest for you the 'rainbows and unicorns' thread? Or my thread from last year where I talked about *why* I *like* my job? Or how happy I am to be paid so well as I am? Or my I've done worse things for less money?

Calling a spade a spade is exactly how I *don't* get burned out. And yeah, some patients are ... um... well... you can probably fill in a sufficient number of adjectives to get some of what's rolling through my head. And some of the expectations upon us are... asinine...

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
mhy12784 said:
Not to interrupt the pity party

But how many nurses are there with the same attitude in the OP

Talking about how horrible and tough their job is, and how they have to care for all these damn sick people.

All the while their patients usually have it 1000 times worse than they do.

I've had the kinds of discussions in this thread with attendings and consults, not just nurses. Anyone who works in healthcare for any period of time has a very human reaction to the ridiculous?

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mhy12784 said:
Of course they do, im not judging (well ok I totally am, but more so people ive seen in the real world than this actual thread)

Im more so talking about some of the things I see at work (yes im very well aware that everyone/every hospital is different)

Ive seen nurses get upset when they dont get their first break till 10/1030 am !! And the complaining about management seems to be universal in healthcare (far worse than I ever saw in the business world, and that I see just as much here as elsewhere)

(I do work as a nurse, but only for about a year, so im very much still a sunshiner. And I realize that)

Its just tough entering a field and being optimistic/making the most of it, when there are so many burnt out people around you complaining VERY frequently.

How can you make a culture more positive, when it thrives on negativity?

I wouldnt be surprised if the negatives of nursing get talked about by nurses at LEAST 10x more than the positives. I know that all jobs get that, but that doesnt make it good

There is always one, isn't there?

*whoosh*

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Just last night, had a patient's adult daughter spend the night. She became upset and agitated because I came in every hour to check on her mother (who was just fine with the checks), the alarm on the IV pump went off repeatedly (stop bending your arm, darn it!), and **gasp** the tech came to take vitals every 4 hours. I finally had enough of her complaining and told her: "Your mother checked into the hospital to be cared for. YOU did not check into a hotel. If you want to sleep, go home. This is not where people sleep. They work at getting better or helping others get better." She behaved herself after that.

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