3/6 months... quitting the job...

NanikRN · Mar 24, 2014

[quote. ...

those types....,Or maybe you worked only in cushy environment with easy, outpatient only patients in rich neighborhood?

Way to go on the judgmental scale. You just about hit it out of the ballpark with your arrogant , dismissive labeling of the people that come to you for care.

Of course, we've all worked with difficult, demanding, taking advantage of the system patients/family. But we don't all-thank god--lump them together in an offensively derogatory label of "ghetto patients"

I find it reprehensible for any nurse to categorize a patient like that. But a new nurse of less than a year? You don't even know who you are as a nurse yet , much less be able to summarily dismiss another human being as "ghetto"

And as for Ruby? Maybe she's saving her compassion and empathy for all those patients you just blew off

alrighThen · Mar 24, 2014

As someone who worked in the inner city, was told by administration to 'not even stop at the red lights, just slow and go,' was nearly carjacked twice going to and from the hospital, and had my nose broken by patient violence, I support the OP in her need to change situations.

My ICU had a k9 security team for the family and friends of the patients who frequently grabbed the bags of fentanyl off the pole and ran. Our hospital warned us that they would not be accountable for our decision to step outside for a walk, as the street people would look for scrubs and routinely assault and rob for iPhones.

Sometimes you need a change, and calling it as it is may not be politically correct, but it could be accurate. I spent two years there and when my hair started falling out and we had saved enough I took the first job I got 3000 miles away, back home. I have a new sense of appreciation. By the way it's been heaven.

OP, get out of there when you can.

OneDuckyRN · Mar 24, 2014

@ruby: thanks for the advice. i actually applied to couple spots but i'm not a kid, so quitting before a secured job is a bad idea,so i'm trooping on for 3 more months unless i find a job of course. but if you have no idea what i meant about the "ghetto clientele", considering the fact that you probably have a decade or two of experience, i am purely surprised to note that you seem to not have any kind of agreement or empathy (not that I need it :)) about working with "difficult" population. Like kalevra said, let's face it, we have all been there and worked with those types if you ever had to work in med surg. Or maybe you worked only in cushy environment with easy, outpatient only patients in rich neighborhood? That I don't know. But if you haven't worked in the so called "ghetto are hospitals", I think it might be too early for you to decide for me whether my opinion stink or not.
and amolucia, i would never mention about how stressful the current job is as anything negative about work during interview would cause bad looks.

I'm glad to hear you're willing to stick it out for another 3 months. I'm 7 months into my first job and am finally eligible for internal transfer. It makes going to work every day a little easier to know that I have some feelers out there for more desirable positions, and have put in applications for some positions in my dream unit.

You'll never hear any of the "higher ups" say it, but at least where I work, some of the more experienced nurses freely admit that hazing happens with the newer nurses. It happened to me, and I know my friend who hired onto the floor a month after me feels the same way. It sounds like maybe that's what's happening to you. It's not right or fair, but it happens.

Like you, I've experienced things with my health that I KNOW are related to job stress. I was diagnosed with migraines a couple of years ago, but twice in the last couple of months the headaches have been so bad that they make me vomit. You guessed it - I was at work both times. Stress much? I think so. PLEASE see your doctor/NP/PA about your B/P and migraines - the nosebleed part especially given your family history.

Good luck to you - I hope you find something that's less stressful for you.

nichefinder · Mar 24, 2014

@NanikRNl isten, i do appreciate people who come in to listen to my rant and give me advices, but i am a very stand-firm type of character, and if something is on my mind, I WILL SAY IT in the least offensive way possible. I give seniority respect to RNs with experience, but that doesn't stop me from telling them why they have to say somethings they say to me as long as they are staff RNs like me (of course, I say it politely, and this happened in my work places where I stand ground and confront when I am met with unnecessary impoliteness; guess what, I gained respect from everyone on my unit because of that).

Again, I am not sure of your work background or Rubys's but quickly judging me for terming the patients "ghetto" EVEN AFTER I apologized in my comment for misusing the term "ghetto"... I mean do you even read the whole post?

Again, someone in earlier post has termed the word "ghetto" in perfect description for audiences such as yourselves, so I advise that you go read that please. I don't dislike their behavior because they are "ghetto." It's because they do things that normal people would not do, as mgngal explained, stealing narcotics from waste bins, lying to doctors for pain meds when all labs show normal, hitting staff, yelling, grabbing the doc by the headlock, etc.

Seriously, please refrain from being overly judgmental before even throughley reading all the posts and without sufficient knowledge of the situation. Sincerely in regard to your harsh, but not-well processed opinion

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 24, 2014

@ruby: thanks for the advice. i actually applied to couple spots but i'm not a kid, so quitting before a secured job is a bad idea,so i'm trooping on for 3 more months unless i find a job of course. but if you have no idea what i meant about the "ghetto clientele", considering the fact that you probably have a decade or two of experience, i am purely surprised to note that you seem to not have any kind of agreement or empathy (not that I need it :)) about working with "difficult" population. Like kalevra said, let's face it, we have all been there and worked with those types if you ever had to work in med surg. Or maybe you worked only in cushy environment with easy, outpatient only patients in rich neighborhood? That I don't know. But if you haven't worked in the so called "ghetto are hospitals", I think it might be too early for you to decide for me whether my opinion stink or not.
and amolucia, i would never mention about how stressful the current job is as anything negative about work during interview would cause bad looks.

I work in a large, inner city hospital surrounded by what is often called "ghetto housing." Not only do I know the population of which you speak, I work with them. I have empathy about working with a difficult population, but not about throwing the term "Ghetto" around to refer to your patients. For one thing, it could be interpreted as racist. And for another, it's derisive of your patient population.

That particular patient population is not unique to Med/Surg. ER sees them, OR, ICU, PACU, outpatient clinics . . . . everyone in the hospital sees them. However sometimes those nice, white rich people are just as difficult to deal with, if not more so. If you haven't dealt with some of them, I envy you.

You are free to hold any opinion you choose about your patient population or anything else. Just beware of how you express those opinions on a forum such as this -- you may offend a lot of people.

alrighThen · Mar 24, 2014

OP, your decision to leave will of course hinge on how bad you want it. You may find a job with your experience that you want, or you may have luck with sub acute rehab or relocating.

I think my turning point was when we had to code our charge nurse after she was punched in the face and knocked out with a head bleed in the middle of a rapid response.

If your nose was bleeding and your health is suffering, I say there are better things in life.

I call it ghetto. Who cares. It has to do with much more than racism and intolerance. I'm not white and I can see it for what it is.

illcleff · Mar 24, 2014

Girl have you thought about going back to school for your masters. Bedside nursing is not for everyone. That why I like nursing because there are different options to choose from. For instance after I graduated, I worked on a busy med surg unit for x3 years ( which was enough for me). I transferred to a psych ER which I fell in love with. This motivated me to go back for my PMHNP which I will be finishing up next June. Once you switch jobs and figure out what you really want to do, maybe you can look into grad school. Good luck with everything.

toomuchbaloney · Mar 24, 2014

Perhaps we should go easy on this new nurse who apparently didn't imprint much of Jean Watson's views on nursing, especially those parts about unconditional positive regard.

Clearly the OP has never experienced the outlandish and rude behavior of the wealthy in the everyday health care setting which they perceive as so common and below their standards and expectations. I am certain that she would be ever so much more content to have a wealthy white person cuss at her, demean and dehumanize her, spit at her, steal the opiates and benzos, and ring the call light every 5 minutes for her undivided attention.

It is correct that the wealthy do not seek their routine care from the ED, because they have health insurance. They go to multiple providers, specialists, and private clinics. They have a wide variety of choices for their opiate prescription needs. That makes all the difference, right?

We all understand what "ghetto patients" means and implies. Many of us have worked with inner city and poor patients at some point. The mature nurses don't feel contempt or disdain for the poor minority patients we care for, even when their behavior is bad.

I agree with Ruby Vee, but I will be more direct. I find your nursing opinion and characterization of your patients offensive.

gonzo1, ASN, RN · Mar 24, 2014

I love working with the underserved "ghetto" population. I'll take your job and you can go work in a kushy office somewhere. I know a nurse that is very judgmental and I've always wondered why she became a nurse if she only wanted to take care of one certain type of well educated, pretty, wealthy client.

AdamantiteEnigma · Mar 24, 2014

@NanikRNl isten, i do appreciate people who come in to listen to my rant and give me advices, but i am a very stand-firm type of character, and if something is on my mind, I WILL SAY IT in the least offensive way possible. I give seniority respect to RNs with experience, but that doesn't stop me from telling them why they have to say somethings they say to me as long as they are staff RNs like me (of course, I say it politely, and this happened in my work places where I stand ground and confront when I am met with unnecessary impoliteness; guess what, I gained respect from everyone on my unit because of that).
Again, I am not sure of your work background or Rubys's but quickly judging me for terming the patients "ghetto" EVEN AFTER I apologized in my comment for misusing the term "ghetto"... I mean do you even read the whole post?
Again, someone in earlier post has termed the word "ghetto" in perfect description for audiences such as yourselves, so I advise that you go read that please. I don't dislike their behavior because they are "ghetto." It's because they do things that normal people would not do, as mgngal explained, stealing narcotics from waste bins, lying to doctors for pain meds when all labs show normal, hitting staff, yelling, grabbing the doc by the headlock, etc.
Seriously, please refrain from being overly judgmental before even throughley reading all the posts and without sufficient knowledge of the situation. Sincerely in regard to your harsh, but not-well processed opinion

You have questionable views.

And it seems that you are under the impression that these "ghetto" patients don't exist outside of your local metropolitan hospital. You are mistaken. I'll just stop there for fear of taking you to task when you obviously wouldn't benefit from it.

More importantly, take care of yourself. This is important for a myriad of reasons. Nonetheless, it seems you've forgotten. Cutting off your Med-Surg rotation previous to a year will hurt your career prospects. But if it's truly something you can't handle, it makes sense to leave an environment your internalizing and making toxic for yourself. Maintaining the ability to function is non-negotiable.

Are you picking up extra shifts? I ask this because the very first thing I've found to be true is establishing some control on the environment *outside* of work directly affects how happenings within work affect you. Sleep, and lack thereof, is something you've mentioned. That's a biggie! So are things like relationships with family/friends, and completely non work related activities (I play the guitar for example and guest spot with my friend's band). How is your fitness? Are you doing anything that involves moderate physical activity that you find to be enjoyable?

So much I could say here, but I guess the nutshell version of my impression here is that you've turned yourself into a pressure cooker. Decompress, before you explode?

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Mar 24, 2014

@ruby: thanks for the advice. i actually applied to couple spots but i'm not a kid, so quitting before a secured job is a bad idea,so i'm trooping on for 3 more months unless i find a job of course. but if you have no idea what i meant about the "ghetto clientele", considering the fact that you probably have a decade or two of experience, i am purely surprised to note that you seem to not have any kind of agreement or empathy (not that I need it :)) about working with "difficult" population. Like kalevra said, let's face it, we have all been there and worked with those types if you ever had to work in med surg. Or maybe you worked only in cushy environment with easy, outpatient only patients in rich neighborhood? That I don't know. But if you haven't worked in the so called "ghetto are hospitals", I think it might be too early for you to decide for me whether my opinion stink or not.
and amolucia, i would never mention about how stressful the current job is as anything negative about work during interview would cause bad looks.

I have had millionaires crawling around in their own vomit. Patients who demand the "best" because gosh darn it they are paying for this OUT OF POCKET--"get in here right this instant,girlie!!" types. People are people. People can be far different people when they are ill. Bad behavior is not exclusive to those who don't have money. I have had respectful gangsters, and entitled wanna bes. Not one Med Surg job is "cushy" by any means. But neither is much in this profession.

nichefinder · Mar 24, 2014

I work in a large, inner city hospital surrounded by what is often called "ghetto housing." Not only do I know the population of which you speak, I work with them. I have empathy about working with a difficult population, but not about throwing the term "Ghetto" around to refer to your patients. For one thing, it could be interpreted as racist. And for another, it's derisive of your patient population.
hold on people... I have an uncomfortable idea that every time someone says the word "ghetto", immediately they make connection of that term to certain race. that is very unfortunate way of thinking as bad behaviors, rudeness, and negative aspects of patients are not defined or maintained by one being of certain race; that is just RIDICULOUS. I have worked met across many types of people, and race has nothing to do with anything. I don't know if those who take offense are doing so because they automatically assume that just because the term "ghetto" is used, they think "racism".
Word ghetto is used also in WWII, such as Jewish ghetto. The definition of "ghetto" is not an area where certain minority race lives who tend to be poor. NO. Ghetto refers to any area where certain socioeconomic class of people congregate. By definition, Beverly Hills is also a ghetto, so yes, my use of the term ghetto is wrongly used; but if you become defensive because you automatically connect that term with certain race, there is no genius in the world to convince you that such thinking in fact reinforces your own and others' racism (I know harsh words here). I just wanted to make darn sure no one is talking about any color on this thread, ever!
I am many times, bitter at the fact that "nurses take it" mentality. If a doctor puts someone in place for being rude, he/she is a great awesome person, but if a nurse does that? Why, nurses are servants and slaves, must not they take it and internalize it? I am a human being before I am a nurse. Of course I will feel angry if I am not respected like I should be JUST because I am in scrubs.
This is getting off topic. If you as a nurse, to another nurse, have nothing to say but criticism about the misused word ghetto (which I admit was wrongly used) because you automatically connect ghetto and race, that's on you. To all others who are in my position, I encourage you and wish the best you find your place also.