nurses as patients

allnurses Guide · Sep 2, 2008

Cariad I was rubbish, I woke up from the anaesthetic to the sound of laughter in the recovery room. When i asked if I had been misbehaving they said only a little, and did I promise not to try to get out of bed again,

I was told by physio that I could go home after I walked up and down the stairs so 10 hours post op I demanded to be taken to the stairs where I sobbed up and down, and then commented that it wasn't specified I couldn't cry when I did it.

I went home that afternoon and ended up in the out of hours GP surgery because of poor pain management.

Now 4 months post op and have spent most of the time over doing it and the rest recovering from overdoing it.

Be glad to get back to work

cuppa_tea · Sep 2, 2008

Oh gosh, I was a know-it-all. Unintentionally, of course. Being a first year nursing student, I had all kinds of questions and was truly curious. I think they thought I came off as a smart-orifice. My nurse a little cool with me, but that's how some nurses are. I am a very warm nurse (or rather, will be), very hands on and comforting. I know there are all kinds of nurses. As long as your care is patient-focused, that all you can ask for. I think I wanted to let the doctor and nurses know I would expect no foolishness or half-baked patient care. I KNOW better kind of thing. I kept pulling my airmask away (more than a little loopy from general) saying, "it's too much air, it's too much air!!!' The nurse said to me, Kimberley, there is no such thing as too much air! The air was blowing so hard into my nose that I was gulping and gagging on the air, like drowning in it. It was making me panicky so I pulled it off and held it just in front of my face. I was a pain in the backside probably. I hope in 3 weeks I'm a better patient.:)

cariad · Sep 2, 2008

i cant wait to return to work now, but feel that theres so much stuff going on with physio etc, i dont have time for it. looking forward to my college class tomorrow evening, just to have some work interaction again.....but dh will have to drive me.

Whisper · Sep 3, 2008

I think nurses as a general rule make terrible patients. I know I certainly do.... I don't mention what I do for a living anymore, I think you get labeled as a bad patient, and I'd rather they judge me rather than my job.

I usually say I'm an NHS employee, so I still get a Mrs A screen, but I let them assume a ward clerk or something similar.

But I am a TERRIBLE patient, I just want to go home even before I arrive, and I have to be really ill (ie turning blue) before I consider getting help. Goodness knows how I'd manage if i had to have an operation, I be a DNA... unless i was escorted into the building.

At the moment, I restrain myself, to lying to physios (yes i've walked around the ward twice this morning already, and done my deep breathing exercises every hour;) ) giving the PEFR a little nudge so its higher so I can go home sooner. and I clean everything, I think I devlop some kind of compulsion, i use bottles and bottles of alcohol gel.

I try not to annoy the staff, but last year I insisted on making my own bed, whilst still attatched to wall's o2 supply!!

I always remember a lecture at university when we were told, nurses were not just service providers but service users. I pray every shift not to get a patient like me.

Trauma Columnist · Sep 3, 2008

Fortunately, (knock on wood) I haven't been a pt in many, many years. However, have had both grandchildren admitted several times each for things over the past two years. And...since I'm the Grandma Nurse, everyone calls me in the middle of the night to go to the ER with them. Off I go....and believe me, you don't want to have Grandma Nurse in your ER! lol

I'm evil...what's this, what are you doing, why are you doing it that way? Even the most seasoned nurse cringes when they see Grandma Nurse coming - tee hee hee!

Silverdragon102, BSN · Sep 3, 2008

Yes I think nurses can make very bad patients but I also believe a lot of it is fear and that we know a bit more than Joe public. It also doesn't help that when they know you are a nurse they think you know everything when you really only know a lot about the area you work in. I remember when I was 28ish having my tonsils out and the staff in general was indifferent as in they lied a few times, post op pain control was poor and discharge well I had no teaching. 2 days after I went home I checked my throat and saw a lot of green and panicked rang the ward and they spoke down to me as if I should have know this is normal after all I was a nurse. Yes I am a nurse not in surgery but medicine and my experience was telling me green means infection so panicking was rational to me. Just someone spending a bit of time with me before I went home and giving me information would have probably helped me get over the op. Since then I have always made sure my patients regardless on where they where from had information to go home with. I think sometimes we have to remember when it is either ourselves or family/friends things are different and not always rationale

Fiona59 · Sep 3, 2008

Just want to through in the info that I find family members/visitors who are nurses far worse than the nurse as a patient. I don't need to be supervised as I do my patient care or assessment. If I ask you to let me have some space to work with the person in the bed it's because I need it.

I don't need to be told that you are a nurse, you help with care (that alone opens up a whole can of worms in the liabilty/infection control areas), that you will talk to the head nurse. Give me space and time to do my job. I don't come to your ward and watch you at work.

We've had a run of nurse/family members on my ward this summer and three people have handed in their notices because of the out of control behaviour by these visitors.

cariad · Sep 4, 2008

i try to keep my job low key and let the nurse get on with their job, but as a visitor to my husband, the nurse falls over herself to look after him when they sometimes recognise me as a member of staff.

not needed in my case,,,i try to behave as i want my patients and family members to behave.

Sister Fox · Sep 4, 2008

I have a classic story!

A few years back, the day after doing some strenuous gardening, I got a pain in my chest and left arm. I panicked and rang for an ambulance. Was late - almost midnight. The ambulance arrived in no time and suddenly I was in resus and hooked up to all the usual. Nothing was found, no cardiac enzymes or whatever.

Still they decided to put me on a Warfarin pump and at 3.30am they admitted me to coronary care.

Well, come the morning, I felt somewhat foolish, realising that it was muscular. 7am I called the nurse and said "I think I'll go home now!" Truly - that's exactly what I said! Stupido!!!

Well, eventually the consultant did his round and said that although they had found nothing at all, he still wanted to keep me in another 24hrs because I was a member of staff at the time and 'we have to take care of our nurses'. Obediently I smiled my assent and as soon as he had gone, asked for a form of self-discharge!

The nurses kept prevaricating, saying they'd get to it but first I need to have the Veflon removed. Several hours later I was still waiting and in the end told the nurse with some emphasis "You have two options - either you remove it or I will!" My sister and her son were sitting with me and both looked exceedingly embarrassed!

Even then, they prevaricated until I went to the sister myself and demanded the form. But I left!

Sun*shine · Sep 4, 2008

I got discharged the morning after i had my thyroid removed, six hours after my operation i was making my bed with the ward sister. i did opt not to wear my oxygen at 5 litres for eight hours post surgery, i'm sure most people would comply but i really didn't think it would do me any good...evidence based or not. though i did ask permission to take it off lol. When my coursemate was a patient they found her rummaging in the treatment room for some normal saline, she didn't want to bother one of the nurses!

One thing i did experience was what it's like to be barrier nursed. they found mrsa up my nose in my pre-op swab. it's awful, i felt totally diseased. i really symphathise with my patients who need to be barrier nursed.

i found as a student the ward staff would always warn me that 'so and so's' relative is a sister on ward whatever. already you feel terrified that you might do something wrong or displease them. they're still scared and vulnerable relatives or friends at the end of the day, and they should be dealt with in the same manor as you would deal with everyone else. i've seen cases where the tension in the situation was created entirely by the ward staff, and not by the relative who was a matron in the same hospital. i think people can really set themselves up to be kicked down in situations like this. i never told the staff that i was a student nurse when i was in hospital until they asked me.

Fiona59 · Sep 5, 2008

In my health region, all hospital staff (if they tell the admitting dept. they work there) automatically get a private room and put on isolation precautions due to MRSA exposure. The fast result swabs are back in 24hours, so often they are at home before the results come back.

We were talking about this the other day. We'd all refuse to be admitted to our wards because we just don't want to see each other in a vulnerable positions. One coworker went as far as to say they would drive to one of the suburban hospitals rather than come to "our" hospital. Another said, she'd come but the OR staff would have to insert the foley and she'd remove it herself.

Face it most of us don't make good patients or visitors. Our current "I'm a nurse" visitor left in tears the other night when the Charge Nurse pointed out that visiting hours did indeed apply to her, no she would not be staying overnight, and if her behaviour towards staff continued, the HR department and her unit manager would be advised and disciplinary actions sought. The Charge that did it, is still getting bought coffee.