Please dont hate me for saying this...

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I am a pre nursing student and have been fortunate to be able to volunteer in the ER as well as a few shadowing opportunities. I have noticed a lack of care towards patients, most of the nurses are sitting around and talking, even discussing personal information regarding patients. I have seen very flippant attitudes, even towards a women having a miscarriage. NOW, please understand I do not want to offend anyone, I am just curious. Is this something that happens with time, you are just so accustomed to seeing so many patients that you stop wanting to interact with them for longer than needed? I have noticed that after vitals are complete, the nurses just return to the station and never check the patient again. Is that normal protocol? Are there specific fields of nursing, such as ER or Dr. offices where this is found more than other areas? I have wanted to work in the healtcare industry for so long and now I am disappointed with what I am seeing. I want to feel like I can make a difference, care for each patient the same way I would want to be cared for. Am I being naive to think I will never adopt the same attutude? I am truly scared now that I am put so much time and effort into something that I have maybe incorrectly idealized for so long. Thank you in advance for any advice and please understand this is not intended to upset anyone.

I'm not sure how you figure she doesn't belong in the ER. That is just where she has seen the behaviors she described. Such is not exclusive to the ER, nor are all nurses in ER like this.

It's very interesting - she begged everyone not to take offense yet it seems like almost everyone here did. Have I misperceived?

For OP: Just be the best you can. You are going to find all kinds of people in Nursing, just as in Medicine or any other field of work. Emulate the good ones, eschew the others, pray for all to walk a mile in the shoes of the patients and their relatives; and vice versa!

Vito, you have NOT misperceived. I read it the same way. People need to get real about the truth.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I am not offended by the OP's observation, and I also don't think that anyone was particularly hard. Sometimes, we perceive differently when we see things as laypeople than when we are actually in the mud with them dealing with the same issues. Also, it could be that nurses have to function no matter what their personal feelings are. Also, a reality is that while we are here to serve the patients to the best of our abilities, we also owe it to ourselves to survive as well. Now, for sure, there are some horrible, callous nurses out there as well...I don't know what the OP actually saw. But, I can say for sure that anyone walking in with the rose colored glasses (not meaning the OP, or to offend anyone, either) will have a rude awakening. How many times have nurses tried to put in extra time into their patients only to be rushed by unfeeling administrators? Been beseiged with redundant 'cover your butt' paperwork when you want to check that patient in room 5 one more time before you go home? Been humiliated because you care? I think those are some things that can break a good nurse down. Not that she doesn't have compassion, but she also has to survive for herself, her family and the next patient that needs their undivided attention.

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Specializes in Med Surg/Tele/ER.
I don't think the ER is for everyone and it appeared she really wants to make a caring difference. I just mean that in the ER you don't get full backgrounds, continuity of care, follow-up, and the time to do many caring interventions. I have many friends in the ER and think it is perfect for them. But let's face it, ER nurses aren't often perceived as the most compassionate nurses. I honestly do not mean all of them!! I also assumed she needed more exposure to other departments to see if it she liked them better than the ER. Perhaps she is meant for the ER... but I know tons of people who had clinical experiences and walked out saying "that is what I want to do". I really was just trying to give her a little hope. She is early in the journey...

This kinda bothers me....I am compassionate, I care, & I do make a difference. While the "ER is not for everyone"......what area is? You can make a caring difference in any area....it is up to you. I may not be able to give a back rub, sit with them for very long, but I can, & do show I care....it might be with a kind word, reassurance, holding a hand for a few seconds, a sincere smile, or most of all being on top of things & seeing they get the interventions they need. Do I feel warm & fuzzy about everyone I care for? NO....but I am still kind, & provide the best care I know how. I love what I do, & I love being an ER nurse!

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

I had a hard 12 hour ER shift yesterday. multiple gun shot wounds, MI's , homeless people spitting on us ..just to find out they have TB. people cursing us out because they didn't get into a room right away for finger laceration. and then you have the little old lady who is septic and not getting the attention she deserves because of jerks like the above. you name it, we get it. sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. i had a patient tell me "i don't know how you guys work in the ER". it can be rough and very emotionally draining. I laugh at the nurses station every opportunity i get. if i didn't i would go crazy.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Don't judge a book by it's cover. Remember that you can't mindread.

Obviously there are some bad behaviors you're observing, but there's a lot you're not seeing, or a lot you think you are seeing.

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.
Don't judge a book by it's cover. Remember that you can't mindread.

Obviously there are some bad behaviors you're observing, but there's a lot you're not seeing, or a lot you think you are seeing.

Oh, Tweety!! You can always convey your thoughts and opinions without being offensive or condescing. Thank you for stating exactly what

I was attempting to!

You are great!! Anne, RNC:bow:

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
Oh, Tweety!! You can always convey your thoughts and opinions without being offensive or condescing. Thank you for stating exactly what

I was attempting to!

You are great!! Anne, RNC:bow:

:yeah::yeah:For Tweety:redpinkhe...I love him, too:redbeathe:bow:

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Yeah, it happens. Wait till you become a nurse and a lot more of it you will definitely encounter.. But should this discourage you? I THINK NOT. This should be a driving force for you to BECOME a NURSE and make a difference..

I've been working for 4 years and was assigned to different areas. From OPD to MS then now 2 years at OR. I learned to, that in PRACTICE you should KEEP THE GOOD ONES AND THROW OUT THE BAD ONES (I meant the ATTITUDES that you observe).

You should also understand that, the Attitudes we show to Colleagues and to Patients, is also the Mirror and a gauge how we LOVE our work and how dedicated you are in doing it.

Being with the px, attending to their needs gains you to have GREAT CLINICAL EYE. You see, the more you interact with them the more you LEARN.. Why? because as time goes by, you can easily distinguish what is the problem even by just looking at the px.. What more when you tend to their needs..

I learned not to look at what other's is doing and not judge them to what they do.. Just dont absorb all that negative things that they do...In time, you'll gonna be okey.. and somehow becomes one of the nurses that TRULY CARES...

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Specializes in Ortho, Case Management, blabla.

Sometimes discussing patient's personal information is the only way to really blow off steam when you are under stress. You see so many sad, depressing, horrible things at times. It is better to verbalize it with people that will understand what you are thinking rather then try to hold everything in. I'm not saying their actions are appropriate, but I know you are thinking, "how horrible they talked about a miscarriage" but at the same time the nurses probably thought it was horrible too and the only way to deal with it is to talk about it with other people that understand. I mean, you can't go home and talk about it. Seriously. Humor is a perfectly acceptable stress reliever, no matter how dark the humor may seem.

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RN2BE,

I am not an RN yet, but I did work in the ED for 8 years as a tech, and then one day I decided to move on. After L&D, I floated around for a while into various areas and one night I was assigned to the inpatient hospice. I was mortified. After dealing with only sudden death for so long, how could I manage in this completely opposite world. As it turns out, that night (and the several after) had completely reversed my ED "burnout". The other end of the spectrum of death...dying with dignity... was right in front of me. I was able to float back to the ED and I found myself putting so much more thought into the care that I was giving to the patients.

I intend to keep this balance after I finish Nursing School. I love the ED...I can't wait to get back into the trenches..., but also , I can't wait to tend to that person who is walking gently away.

Kindest regards,

Hoot

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Neuro, Ortho, Med/Surg, Travele.

I have worked in several different regions and in both large and small hospitals and with all kinds of people. Nursing is as diverse as the people we care for and the one mandate that you need to follow with patients and co workers is to be non judgemental. Personally, I go to work and do the best job that I can do period. As long as I can walk away at the need of the day knowing that then I feel that I have had a good day. If you want to work in the ED, know that sometimes what you see or overhear is only a small piece of what could or maybe going on. Very often, especially in a big ER it may seem like a nurse maybe doing nothing but that I my experience is usually not the case. Good luck in your endeavors.

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I am sorry to have upset some of you and honestly did not intend on stirring the ****. I had a talk with a friend that has been a nurse for over 20 years, 11 years in the ED. She was explaining how and why the reality or nursing is not what many new nurses expect. And you know my husband asked me how I felt about firefighters, regarding the down time they have between calls, and then I realized what I had wrong all along, this is my first experience and I dont know what I was expecting, but obviously I needed to consider (the obvious) fact that it was the EMERGENCY dept, not mother/baby unit. That's these are situations where you dont necessarily have the time to bond with a patient, just a smile or a pat on the back or holding a hand to show you care, may be the extent of outward "care" that time allows. And, that does not mean that you care less than another nurse, it just means you have to put it in perspective for the unit you are on and the limitations on time and energy that one person can possibly shell out. I dont know if what I am saying makes any sense, and I know with time I will understand it better and be able to articulate my thought processes better, but for now, I can say I will have a whole different attitude and will open my mind and my eyes to all aspects of nursing that I am fortunate enough to experience so early on.

Thanks again to all that commented, good or bad, it honestly has helped me and I appreciate your taking the time to give your input.:heartbeat

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