Nurse as a Patient, treated badly, wanting to rant

[chloeysmom]

***This is a very long story, but I have to get it off my chest, as I would have never dreamed of a patient, let alone me, being treated like this***

I am an RN (10 yrs experience in both med-surg and icu) who was just recently diagnosed w/ gastroparesis of unknown etiology and Mediastinal Lympadenopathy (oyy vay!); I was transferred from a small hospital in WV to Univeristy of Pittsburg Mercy Hospital.

I have a long ranting story, and want your opinions on my story. Of which, trust me, is all TRUE. Let me just start off by saying that bigger is not always better.

First off, they did not do a full head to toe admission and history on me. No Nursing Phyiscal assessment at all--no stethoscope, no lung sounds, etc. (although I was seen by a 3rd year resident 3 hours after my arrival, and 3 hours of waiting after being transported 4 hours by squad with my mother and sister following behind in private vehicle).

Second, I had no name band, and no allergy band on.

Thirdly, when I was asking a question about their TPN/Lipid policy (I was on TPN and Lipids when I arrived and they took it down immediately) and using "outside picc lines" I was rudely interrupted many times by my nurse stating "oh I'm not using that picc line, if will have to come out"; Of which, I refused (I just had it inserted the day before). In addition to this, she said she would "restart your tpn/lipids after pharmacy mixed it". Now is that not a contradiction, taking OUT a PICC line when you need it for TPN. SO I just asked, so are you starting a peripheral line for PPN, and she said "no". What is wrong with this picture? I am reading something into it?.

Another thing that happened, is that when I fell asleep, someone (I didn't know who at the time) gave me medicine sq in my llq, and how I know is that there is a bruise there that I didn't have when I entered. I woke up that morning with a sore stomach, and had a hunch so I asked the nurse about it and she said "Oh I gave you heparin"; OK, then she didn't follow JCAHO standards....2 identifiers, etc. because I still didn't have an armband at this point and she didn't wake me to confirm 2nd identifier;

This was the last straw.I signed out AMA (although still reluctantly d/t insurance not paying for the visit).

During the signing out: They have a policy that the medial staff who seen you (I seen a 3rd year resident 3 hrs after I arrived) has to see you before you leave. As I was signing she stood up, came toward me and said the was "demaning that you let me take that picc line out". I said absolutely not, that is attempted assault w/ battery. AM I RIGHT?

When I was leaving, I asked them to contact my family whom were staying in the same building, on a different floor for overnight family and was told "sorry I'm not on duty yet, I can't help you!".

I attempted to contact the patient liason 3 times w/ no success. I am just waiting on a bill, as soon as it comes, they are goint to have to EAT IT!!:argue:

[chloeysmom]

So I am thinking I will do all you say. Contact everyone. Most of all my insurance because I be damned if I will pay a cent to them. I am in process of writing the letter. Your opinion is what I need. This is what I have done, I have stated the facts from time I arrived until time I left, and copied their "core values" from their website at the end and reflected how I felt they failed me on each of their values.

Any further ideas? Thanks to all for you thoughts,opinions, and wishes of wellness.

[Jolie, BSN]

Thank you for taking the time to do this, not only for your peace of mind, but also for the patients yet to come who have no idea what basic safety measures and standards of care their nurses should be following.

Please let us know what you learn.

Take care.

[mendu]

write a detail note for yourself first about everything what had happened. this will keep your memory fresh when it all goes to court. get a good layer. report them to JACHO, hospital CEO, DON, unit manager. this was very disrespectful treatment, unsafe for you as a patient, and i don't even want to think what they do to other patients. i never would give anything to patient asleep; i would cut my hand for that. i do not even give medication unless i have ID band on patient hand or leg. my patients even laugh when i ask them for tenth time about their name and birth date. there are always policies and procedures one should follow to maintain safety of patients and facility itself. it would be great if your experience would change the way they treat and care for their patients.

also the hospital is the one to pay your bills for the treatment they has offered to you. i am sure they would arrange for some good deal on your behave as soon as the wheel starts to wheel: JACHO, CEO, DON...

best wishes!!!

[SmilingBluEyes]

You have received excellent advice to which I cannot add. I just wish to add my support and hope you can find trust and complete recovery, soon. I really do wish you the best. I am so sorry.

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

Notify the Department of Public Health, Department of Health Services, or the agency that licenses hospitals in your state.

[Bluehair]

And please keep us posted as to what happens!

Prayers still with you...

[chicagrl]

OMG I am glad you can document and understand that you were treated poorly, not by the book etc. As a nurse , you have so much knowledge regarding your treatment.

As a new student, I already know that my text book sounds great but real world healthcare does not follow all the lovely ideas my text book describes.

I have been having a really hard time at clinical b/c I know one thing is supposedly right, but I have never experienced any of this so called health care system espoused in texts.

If we are questioning our care, how does the typical patient deal with this? All I ever hear are bad , horror stories.

I have many questions............but hopefully you are well.

I mean really well!

I don't want to go OT

[Vito Andolini]

I am so sorry for what you went through. I cannot imagine giving a patient heparin without waking them up or checking the name band!!!! Thank you for standing up against the pathetic care and treatment you received. I wish you a speedy recovery!:redbeathe:redbeathe:redbeathe

In some small defense of the nurse, she had already met the patient, so didn't really need the armband. As for not waking the patient - one of my major goals in life is to not wake people.

the part about not using the pre-existing PICC is just plain stupid. is it common practice to not use a PICC unless it was inserted at one's own hospital?

[ivanh3]

Not to be a pain here, but I can't help but wonder. So many people here seem to be all about formal complaints etc. I know that you were not well and I don't mean to be insensitive, but did you try talking to your nurse or the charge nurse and conveying your feelings? I mean, are we not all about communicating? There is an old saying, "If I do something nice, please tell my boss, if I did something wrong then please tell me". I understand your frustration, but you are no regular patient. You are a nurse. A professional. I think your feelings were justified, but I am not sure signing out AMA was the right answer.

I am not sure what to tell you about the heparin and PICC line. I probably would not wake a patient IF we had made acquaintance earlier, but that is me. I agree regarding the PICC line. Sounds like someone is confused, but who knows what the hospital policy was regarding PICC lines.

I was a patient not too long ago and I did not care for the treatment I received. I did not complain to anyone but my caregiver. I wasn't confrontational about it. I just explained my point of view.

That interaction ended well. It might have gone south, but I wanted to give a fellow professional the benefit of the doubt.

Just my .02. Bottom line, I hope you are doing better, and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Ivan

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

I have to disagree with a previous poster stating that you can not use a PICC placed at a previous facility. Of course you can as long as it meets certain criteria.....which I wil state. Think about it for a minute....do you refuse to use other medical devices when patients arrive at your facility. Do you replace every urinary catheter,temporary dialysis catheter,PEG tubes.PIVs ...I could go on an on...but you get it. It is common practice now to in some way to confirm and document the status of the line. For example,if you told me the PICC was placed the day before and I did not have your record to prove the amt externally visible and a verified SVC tip placement and that there is no change in the amt externally visible....You order a CXR. This is a sample of what I would document..... Patient arrived with a dual lumen bard solo power PICC that has been placed in the right basilic vein. There is 2 cm externally visible and arm circ 9 cm above the ACF is 28 cm...the dsg is CDI and both lumens have a brisk blood return and flushed per protocol with ease. There are no s/sx of any PICC related complications observed. The MD was notified of the above and a CXR was ordered to verify PICC tip placement. The CXR was done at 1415 and the tip of the PICC has been verified in the distal SVC. Of course,follow your hospital policy and procedures for care issues. I can not begin to tell you haw many PICCs we place for patients going to SNFs to complete their course of IV abx,and all the other PICCs we place for other long term IV therapy needs such as chemotherapy. Many of these patients are in and out of many hospitals and keep their PICCs for months on end. A PICC should not be looked at as a PIV ( easy in...easy out). It is a time consuming,expensive procedure and patients should not be put through an unnecessary procedure b/c no one at the hospital know a how to deal with a patient coming in with a perfectly good CVC. I would have done the same exact thing you did. You are also correct in that it would have been considered battery if they forced you against your will and took out your PICC

[damarystx]

I hope to not ever be taken care of by a nurse who would stick me with a needle with out first waking me up, telling me what they are doing and what medication they are giving me! I am dumbfounded that anyone would do this or defend this! The 5 rights and 3 checks were created for a reason, MISTAKES HAPPEN. Beyond ID checks you are supposed to tell the patient what medication you are giving them and what the route is and HEPARIN!!!!!!!!!Seriously!with all of the media attention surrounding this medication and things that have gone wrong wouldn't you if for no other reason than self preservation want to make sure that you followed hospital policy regarding medication administration.what if there was a medication error and the patient wasn't supposed to get heparin? everybody makes mistakes Dr's, Nurses, Pharmacy what if there was an allergy or the myriad of other things that could go wrong in this situation. And the patient has the right to REFUSE the medication, you have just taken this right away from the patient. And to stick someone with a needle without their permission, or knowledge etc is illegal and unethical. Can anyone on this thread honestly say that they would be ok with this happening to them or a loved one? And what does this series of events say about this nurse? and what other short cuts is he/she taking? And as nurses we are the lucky ones that have knowledge that lay people don't have about the goings on in a hospital so if these things are happening it absolutely should be reported in an effort to prevent these things form happening to other people, people that don't have the benefit of our knowledge, and experience, and may not be able to advocate for themselves.