Nursing has made me dislike dealing with people in general....

Crux1024 · Jul 23, 2007

im sorry you feel that way. I hope things get better for you....Good

Luck...

:balloons::) :lol2: :balloons::) :lol2: :balloons:

Sunflowerinsc, ADN, RN · Jul 23, 2007

Can you take a little vacation and relax and regroup? One thing I have found over the years when you do answer a call bell to" move the remote" and other such things, take a deep breath and then ask what else you can do while you are there. I know , I know , we are busy with lots of other important things BUT if you can take that extra minute ,it saves so much time in the long run. The patient and their family will feel so much better if you take that time to really listen ,many times it is not the remote they are worried about. It is something that will come out if you take just a minute extra . They will feel better and so will you and I'll bet you won't be called back in so soon ,let them know when your next rounds are. That saves alot of extra call bell time also. Good luck and feel better.

angel337, MSN, RN · Jul 23, 2007

don't do floor nursing:)

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Jul 23, 2007

i hear ya and know exactly how you feel... i got so frustrated that i went to nights. my big issue is with the families, they are rude and unrealistic. i can deal with any patient and the night shift worked great for me....

it seems that none of your patients appreciate anything you do. all they can do is complain and be short and rude with you.
the family members are rude and condescending. the patients seem to put on the call lights only when they know you are busy. if they see you pass by the room, they'll find a reason to call you. as long as you are not seen, you are out of mind.
if you don't get there within 10 seconds of them putting on the call light, they get angry. when you apologize that you were with someone else and got there at the speed of light anyway, they don't care. i can't believe i spent 4 years of my life preparing to take care of such ungrateful, evil, sadistic people. that's why i like alzheimer's patients. they become so innocent and are glad just to have you there. the other 90% of the population is hell-bent on making your shift miserable.
i've gotten to the point where i am not wanting to be around people on my off days. because after dealing with them on the job, why deal with them when i don't have to? don't get me wrong. ten percent of the patients i've dealt with have been great. they appreciate what you do and they don't bother you for every little thing (like moving that remote control over to the other side of the bedside table). but the 90% other have put a bad taste in my mouth. i just can't understand why people have to behave so badly. and i don't want to hear that these people sometimes act this way because they are sick. that argument is tired and invalid. these are adults. it doesn't hurt them to treat us like human beings and not a fetching dog. and to think that when the doctor comes in, they're scared to say a word. they ought to be scared stiff. serves 'em right for mistreating their overworked, underpaid, self-sacrificing nurse. no wonder there is shortage of willing nurses that do this anymore. :angryfire

GilaRRT · Jul 23, 2007

Yep, welcome to the humanity. Whoever decided to cook us humans should have left us in the galactic oven a few minutes longer, because most of us are half baked at best.

I am still waiting for the dolphins to fly off into the cosmos singing "so long and thanks for all the fish."

Trauma Columnist · Jul 23, 2007

I'm with you! I worked 7 days straight with my pager, cell phone and it seemed like a gazillion folks needing parts of me this past week.

So...here I am on my only day off and I'm here at All Nurses trying to relax.

Hope you have a great way to relax in your down time.

CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN · Jul 23, 2007

my key to success with patients, not that i'm the most wonderful nurse in the world, is to first thing try to make freinds with them. not that you have to be over the top, trying to land their phone number, no! just see if you can find their funny bone or listen patiently to their complaint and see their side or have a big smile when you greet them. the gest is if they see you as friend material, they will let you go about your business on the floor and will be less likely to harass you up the yin yang. try it and see. something we are not taught in nursing school, but it works! works in real life too, people will less likely victimize you or call you names if they picture you as a friendly person!

ps. i do not mean to imply you are to make friends with patients, no. make them feel that you are a friendly person. then you may have many future successes and more time to do your tasks you need to accomplish!

ps ps i remember when i used to work with this bubbly fun sweet nurse who was like happy in the seven dwarfs, no kidding! well, none of her patients families had any complaints with her! she would make mistakes, she is only human! ...and no family members would dare to complain. why? because they saw her as a friendly nursey nurse kind of gal. not fair! but sometimes that's how the world works. cold and efficient doesn't make for good rapport with families ever!

ps ps ps! another tip, find something that endears them to you. how cutley their goobers curdle on their lip..just kidding! no! be like a mommy and find a little detail that you find attractive about their person rather than how rude, awful, mean they are. stand up to their meanness with a frank you know i'm here to help you and i don't deserve your abuse. but keeping it real and up beat on your shift will make patients and patient's families want you to be their nurse again! are you comming back tomorrow? is a proof positive that this theory is working.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 23, 2007

Bedside nursing is miserable servitude, not 'compassion' or 'caring'.....

I am disappointed that bedside nursing, in some settings, has turned into a form of glorified waitressing. I spend a great deal of my working hours fetching coffee for my grumpy patients, running to the soda machine for family members, dealing with complaints about the food, hearing people gripe about the broken television in the lobby, listening to visitors whine that the computer keyboard does not work, and fulfilling requests that the apple juice be traded for orange juice...

Lately, when an ungrateful family members approaches the nurses station and asks for juice, soda, or ice, I simply give directions to the soda machine or kitchen so that they can get it themselves. I will readily fetch things for my patients, but I am not being paid to leave the floor to grab things for these disgusting family members.

Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN · Jul 23, 2007

Bedside nursing is miserable servitude, not 'compassion' or 'caring'.....
I am disappointed that bedside nursing, in some settings, has turned into a form of glorified waitressing. I spend a great deal of my working hours fetching coffee for my grumpy patients, running to the soda machine for family members, dealing with complaints about the food, hearing people gripe about the broken television in the lobby, listening to visitors whine that the computer keyboard does not work, and fulfilling requests that the apple juice be traded for orange juice...
Lately, when an ungrateful family members approaches the nurses station and asks for juice, soda, or ice, I simply give directions to the soda machine or kitchen so that they can get it themselves. I will readily fetch things for my patients, but I am not being paid to leave the floor to grab things for these disgusting family members.

Did you really leave the floor to get snacks and drinks for family members? You had time for that? I think that polite directions to the vending machine area is more than enough! Saying that you need to stay on the floor to take care of your patients, their family member included, should be enough to shame anyone into getting their own bag of chips and soda!

I had a patient a year or so ago who habitually called her caregivers as one would call a dog. (Kind of a kissing/hissing noise). She could talk, and after a day of politely reminding her to speak when he needed something, I finally told her that I was going to stay until she was comfortable and taken care of, and that could she please use words because the noise was rude. Well, what do you know? She stopped and used words. It was far more pleasant to answer that call light, knowing that I stood up for myself and coworkers and that she actually learned something. I have no idea if it carried over to the next shift, but still. It felt good.

This is why I like the ICU - the patients are too sick and the families are too shocked and grieving to treat the staff badly (most of the time, anyway).

Blee

TRAMA1RN · Jul 23, 2007

Unfortunately in this day and age of instant gratification, caring for patients is only getting harder. Television has given all patients unrealistic expectations for test results and answers, the only solution is education by all healthcare institutions to the public, but because of the power of press ganey no one can afford to upset the public. I did not capitalize on purpose. Just do the best you can and move on.

Warpster · Jul 23, 2007

Although I might fantasize about breaking a call bell addict's fingers, this was not practical, legal, ethical, or in character for me.

What I did learn to do was ask, "Is there anything else I can do for you now? I'm going to be tied up for the next (time period) and won't be able to get in here."

Of course, I'd have other staff peek in when the call light went on to make sure the patient wasn't in real distress, but that sort of limit setting usually worked by the end of my shift.

I knew the patients were sick, scared and lonesome. I cut them a LOT of slack as far as behavior went. I knew they probably weren't like that when they were well.