Nurses as Patients: What was your best/worst experience as a patient?

mommy2boys · May 10, 2007

I'm not a nurse yet, but I've been a patient more times than I can count. The worst experience was when I was in the ER passing a kidney stone and the nurse had missed my IV twice (I usually have a 2 stick rule, but I was in so much pain all I wanted was my IV and pain meds). After yelling at me 2 quit crying, she started to take off my socks and poke around on my feet. After I asked her what she was doing, she told me she would have to stick my feet because she couldn't get an IV anywhere else. (she still had my other arm to try) After I begged her to try on my other arm and that I didn't want an IV in my foot, my DH had to "ask" her to leave and get another nurse. She left in a huff, complaining about how rude I was and how I was over reacting. The best experience came right afterward when another nurse came in to give me my IV. She said sorry for the treatment I was getting from the other nurse and got my IV with the first try. After she started my IV she stayed with my to make sure my pain was under control. She also rubbed my head and was very motherly (she was my age) until my pain was better. She was on top of everything and made me feel like I was being a trooper. She made a point of telling me that I had handled passing a stone seem like a walk in the park even though she know how painful they are.

After I was feeling better I sent a note to the hospital telling about the care I had gotten from my second nurse and sent flowers and cookies to the unit as a big thank you for all of their wonderful care.

momof2RN · May 10, 2007

My worst experience was in PACU following c/s delivery of my first baby. I had been there for 10 minutes or so when my epidural started to alarm. The nurse came to check it and said that apparently it had been programmed wrong and he would have to page anesthesia to come over and fix it. A few minutes later the nurse came back and told me that it would be a little while before anyone could get over because they had all gone to lunch. In the meantime I was in excruciating pain due to a nonfunctioning epidural. I tell the nurse this and he assures me that he'll get some morphine to hold me over. He comes back with the morphine and pushes it as fast as he could into a wide open IV. Within about 30 seconds I begin having chest pain and feeling like I couldn't breathe. He then comes back wanting to know what is wrong. I told him I didn't know. About that time the CRNA comes walking in and asks the nurse what happened. He turns around and tells him that he had just given me 10mg of morphine. 10mg fast ivp into a wide open line! No wonder I felt like I was dying.

My best esperience was the birth of my second child. It was also a c/s but my care on the post-partum unit was absolutely wonderful.

TazziRN, RN · May 10, 2007

Best: I can't choose between two but both were at the hospital I work at. My delivery experience was wonderful and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. The second was a year later when the same baby was admitted for pylo. We spent three days in medsurg and I was so happy with the care she (and I) got that I wrote a letter to the manager and named everyone individually.

Worst: I wasn't the pt, my mom was. She went to UCSF to attempt an aneurysm coiling. She took Plavix for several days pre-procedure, takes ASA everyday, and got heparin intraprocedure. My dad and I checked on her in PACU then went to get something to eat. When we came back the staff told me Mom was vomiting blood. The staff found out I was a nurse and my mom's nurse literally deserted me. Here I am holding my mom sitting up with a tiny kidney basin in my hand while she's puking blood and trying to suction out her mouth with the other hand. I kept calling for someone to help me and the nurse kept saying that I was doing fine and that since I was a nurse, I can help. I contacted pt relations about that one. I do not mind helping when relatives are pts but don't desert me like that.

chenoaspirit, ASN, RN · May 11, 2007

Worse: The nurse pushing UN-diluted Phenergan into my IV, then saying "I guess I could have diluted it" when I complained.

Best: Another nurse actually listening to me and allowing me to be a part of my care.

caliotter3 · May 11, 2007

When a patient states that they want no one to enter their room because they are being stalked, harassed, have been assaulted, etc. do not ignore their statements. When you ignore a frightened, anxious patient, you too, could become a victim of the perpetrator she/he is talking about. Not all of us have the means to hire personal body guards. If we did, we would. And we can not bring weapons into the hospital so that we can protect ourselves when we are conscious and awake.

feisty_lpn, LPN · May 11, 2007

After my 3rd scheduled c/s in 10yrs, I had a horrible nurse. When my spinal wore off, the OB had prescribed percocet prn for pain. I informed my nurse that I would need my pain med and she said "I'll go get your percocet in a minute". Then I informed her that "percocet does not work for me, it might as well be placebo". She said "Well, thats what he ordered and I don't have time to call him for something else"... YES she actually said that to me!!!

I went through the roof. Second day post-op... no pain meds for TEN HOURS!! I was crying, I couldn't pee (they had to straight cath me TWICE), and I was TICKED. This same nurse keeps telling me, while I'm in extreme pain, that I need to get up and walk or I won't recover as quickly. I was not very nice when I told her that "I have been through this twice before. I know I need to walk but if you were any kind of nurse at all, you would know that pain control is only secondary to infection control. Get something that works or buzz off" (insert lots of curse words into that LOL).

My doc finally came around, threw a fit when he heard and apologised to me and made up for it by giving me Dilaudid PO and a script for home use.