preparing to be one of them????????????

[RN2B73]

Hello,

I just want to express my frustration after visiting my grandma in the hospital tonight. I am a pre-nursing student just waiting to be called for the program and after my experience tonight I'm both scared and confused about my future occupation. My grandma was admitted this morning with pneumonia. She is 82 yrs old and has COPD. It seemed like there were an abundance of employees, more than I usually see (and believe me I've spent plenty of time in hospitals) but not once did anyone come in to even look in on either one of the patients in the room. She is on a step down ccu and I guess I just expected more. I realize that there is a nursing shortage and on top of that, the nurses are responsible for numerous patients at one time.

I can't imagine not being able to give each one of my patients the care they derserve and should be entitled too. I don't know how I will feel about it once I begin working in the field and I'm afraid I'll have a hard time dealing with it. I guess I was just looking for a little insight from someone who actually has real life experience. Do you ever feel like you aren't doing your job? Do you feel like you are being set up for failure? I realize that with every profession, there will be those who slack and those that exceed what is expected of them.

Is that just the case with what I encountered this evening, were the nurses slacking or is this the norm? I want to be able to help people but if I felt like I was neglecting my patients every day because of no fault of my own, I'm not sure how long I could take it!

[Miss Mab]

It all comes down to perception doesn't it?

If we were in a courtroom I'd want to scream out "asked and answered! Move on.." or whatever they do on those shows when someone has been given a situation and offered up a multitude of possible scenarios to explain the differing perception of facts but the original questioner keeps asking it again and again--I guess hoping to get a response that fits their original agenda.

Obviously, the answer you are looking for is just not forthcoming. Move on...

I'm sorry your grandmother isn't well and your concern for her shows through. I wish her well.

I can't imagine anyone going into nursing not wanting to provide respectful, pleasant and competent care. It IS possible that you had a "bad" nurse. After being around a while I've realized, unless actual MEDICAL/NURSING care is compromised, it's more likely to do with perception.

This is not directed at the OP just in general.

She was "standoff-ish "--next thing is my nurse was smiling and chatty--doesn't she know how sick grandma is? She could be dying and my nurse could care less..

Nobody was in the room all night. Why do people have to keep coming into the room while pt. is trying to sleep? Don't they know they're sick and need rest?

and on and on and on and on......it's all perception.

Damned if you do and all that...

I know I answer all call lights with pretty much a general "hi, how can I help you" with a fairly generic smile on my face. That can and will be interpreted as:

She was rushed, she was mean, she was the nicest one there, she was .....whatever.

It's perception. I can't change any of that so I just make sure I am the nice person I know I am and provide good care. Beyone that, .........

To the original OP--YES, we absolutely do feel set up for failure. It is disheartening and depressing. But you keep doing what you can do---until you eventually quit and make room for more folks to fill this "shortage"

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

It all comes down to perception doesn't it?

If we were in a courtroom I'd want to scream out "asked and answered! Move on.." or whatever they do on those shows when someone has been given a situation and offered up a multitude of possible scenarios to explain the differing perception of facts but the original questioner keeps asking it again and again--I guess hoping to get a response that fits their original agenda.

Obviously, the answer you are looking for is just not forthcoming. Move on...

I'm sorry your grandmother isn't well and your concern for her shows through. I wish her well.

I can't imagine anyone going into nursing not wanting to provide respectful, pleasant and competent care. It IS possible that you had a "bad" nurse. After being around a while I've realized, unless actual MEDICAL/NURSING care is compromised, it's more likely to do with perception.

This is not directed at the OP just in general.

She was "standoff-ish "--next thing is my nurse was smiling and chatty--doesn't she know how sick grandma is? She could be dying and my nurse could care less..

Nobody was in the room all night. Why do people have to keep coming into the room while pt. is trying to sleep? Don't they know they're sick and need rest?

and on and on and on and on......it's all perception.

Damned if you do and all that...

I know I answer all call lights with pretty much a general "hi, how can I help you" with a fairly generic smile on my face. That can and will be interpreted as:

She was rushed, she was mean, she was the nicest one there, she was .....whatever.

It's perception. I can't change any of that so I just make sure I am the nice person I know I am and provide good care. Beyone that, .........

To the original OP--YES, we absolutely do feel set up for failure. It is disheartening and depressing. But you keep doing what you can do---until you eventually quit and make room for more folks to fill this "shortage"

Great reponse. Very accurate description.

Thanks.

[chuck1234]

Depends on urgency!

At 6PM, it is a kind of borderline!

"Priority" is the word.

Did you grandma get hurt as a result of those nurses so call "standing around."

[Katie82, RN]

Hopefully it was all due to shift change but it's not like it was the first time I've experienced it. I guess I was wondering, is there some type of requirement on how often you are supposed to check on a patient?

Common sense would tell a nurse she should check a patient like your grandma at least once an hour, she had mutliple things going on, plus she was on a step-down unit. Shift change can be pretty hectic, but the oncoming nurse should have at least stepped in the room and introduced themselves. The good thing was that she was on a step-down unit where hopefully, she was being monitored. I always tried to make myself as scarce as possible when patients had visitors, but I at least stuck my head in the door from time to time.

[Multicollinearity, BSN, RN]

No one can tell. I often haven't a clue myself because we all wear scrubs.

Wouldn't it be nice if we knew which ones were the nurses?

I was at a hospital in Southern California recently, and I could tell who the RNs were from far away. They all had LARGE "RN" patches on their scrub tops. I loved it.

[fronkey bean]

I've worked with nurses who were insulted if family did anything for their patients. They felt family was saying the nurses' care was inadequate. People can react very differently to the same situation.

Then these nurses are missing out on what can be a valuable resource. Get the family on your side and not only do you have an ally when you are trying to get the pt to do something they don't want to but you have someone to be an extra set of hands or eyes when you need it. Plus, generally if you please the family you please the pt, at least on eval. forms.

I'd also like to state that there have been times when I have spoke up, as you suggest, only to be given attitude back and my family memeber would suffer the consiquence once I left. I am a warranty manager and deal with unhappy people all day long but there is still a professional manner in which to handle yourself. Do unto others as you would have done unto you, that's all I am saying.

no excuse for being treated rudely but try not to judge all nurses by the rudeness of a few. Use it as an opportunity to learn first hand how not to act.

There is no getting around it: If hospitals' main focus was curing/preventing, they would not be the way they are. Their main focus is making money so they can stay in business (to provide semblance of care). No rationalizing changes that underlying truth that we see every shift.

If we had laws requiring true nurse/doctor/patient ratios, all hospitals would be on the same footing, would provide the real care that we want to give, and would all survive.:cheers:

No matter what the hosp. priorities are a nurses should always be to take the best care of the pt pos. A smile doesn't take any extra time.

[RN2B73]

I'm a bit confused. In your original post you say "...but not once did anyone come in to even look in on either one of the patients in the room"; now you seem to be saying otherwise.

In any case, when I come in for a 7A or 7P shift, I generally don't hit the floor until between 7:30 and 8. After receiving report, I have to prioritize who I will go assess first; those patients who are the sickest or most unstable of the group, and often just attending to that can take up a lot of time meaning I don't necessarily lay eyes on the more stable patients until closer to 8:30.

Like it was pointed out above, once you've become a nurse you'll understand just how quickly a couple of hours can pass.

I do have a problem with you labeling these nurses as 'slackers' when you obviously have no idea what was happening on that unit and with the other patients (had a patient crashed or coded?), or even if all those people you saw were nurses in the first place.

You shouldn't be confused. If you read what I wrote, I said no one ever came in once, meaning that no one checked on her on their own accord. Then someone asked if we pushed the call light, I responded yes and that the nurse did respond to that in a timely manner, none the less. I also take offense to you saying that I was calling anyone a slacker. My question was clearly asking those of you who actually work in the profession if this type of scenario is common practice and if it was because you were given too much to handle or if it could possibly be that someone wasn't pulling their weight as a nurse. I am trying to learn from those of you have experience. Don't be so quick to assume that I am pointing a finger at anyone. I am curious and looking to those of you who have obviously much more knowledge than I do. It's people like you who make students afraid to ask questions for fear of being judged as you are doing now. As I stated before I know that nurses are faced with many difficulties and I will one day find out just how difficult the job truly is. I was simply looking for guidance!

[EmmaG, RN]

You shouldn't be confused. If you read what I wrote, I said no one ever came in once, meaning that no one checked on her on their own accord. Then someone asked if we pushed the call light, I responded yes and that the nurse did respond to that in a timely manner, none the less. I also take offense to you saying that I was calling anyone a slacker. My question was clearly asking those of you who actually work in the profession if this type of scenario is common practice and if it was because you were given too much to handle or if it could possibly be that someone wasn't pulling their weight as a nurse. I am trying to learn from those of you have experience. Don't be so quick to assume that I am pointing a finger at anyone. I am curious and looking to those of you who have obviously much more knowledge than I do. It's people like you who make students afraid to ask questions for fear of being judged as you are doing now. As I stated before I know that nurses are faced with many difficulties and I will one day find out just how difficult the job truly is. I was simply looking for guidance!

Ok, I'm going to be very careful how I answer this post, as I do like this forum...

Twice in the first post (and again in a later one) you mention slacking; you also mention nurses not doing their job, neglect and patients receiving less care than they deserve. You clearly state no one came in the room and continued to imply such until asked directly if you or your grandmother had actually called for assistance. So yeah, you do seem to be pointing fingers. Furthermore, your title "preparing to be one of them" is rather telling as well.

As far as students/new grads (or anyone for that matter) asking questions, I have no problem at all answering and assisting them to the best of my ability. However, when I see what appears to be blatant inconsistencies and misconceptions, I will point them out.

I hope your grandmother recovers soon.

[abbaking]

To me, this is a perfect illustration of the invisibility of nurses. RN2B73 saw a lot of people in scrubs and assumed that they were all nurses.

In my hospital, they could've been secretaries, case managers, chart reviewers, IV team, transporters, housekeepers, patient care techs, wound care, or lab techs.

No one can tell. I often haven't a clue myself because we all wear scrubs.

Wouldn't it be nice if we knew which ones were the nurses?

Effective February 15, 2008 My hospital is implemented Hospital-wide uniforms for all different cost centers (except administration, of course). RN's will be required to wear Navy Blue, CNA's will be wearing black, RCP's - Baby blue....and so on. This is to help patients, visitors and other employee's identify various medical disciplines within the institution. But, WE have to pay for our uniforms ourselves and they MUST be the exact color shade administration has voted on.

:cheers:

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

It's people like you who make students afraid to ask questions for fear of being judged as you are doing now.

In all fairness, many nursing students have the tendency to be rather austere, harsh, and sometimes overly idealistic in their judgments of the events that occur in healthcare settings. Idealism will get the student through school, but realism is necessary for survival in the jungle that is better known as the hospital.

Some students tend to be caustic when judging the situation, and many also judge the entire nursing profession by the few people they have seen in action. Walk 1 mile in our shoes, and you'll know.

Good luck to you. You will be a caring nurse, and a good asset to the profession.

[withasmilelpn]

When you rang for assistance, may I ask what you asked for? I love my patients, and I try to be respectful and kind at all times, but when someone rings for something that falls under the 'fluff my pillow' category and I am getting behind on my medicines and worried about a patient that is truly unstable (or more than one), it can be hard to be truly gracious at times. I've had family members get hysterical over foot rests not on a wheel chair properly, yelling at the poor CNA, and been informed that it 'as not their job' when I tried to show them how to adjust them. Don't get me wrong, I love being the nurse that gets that extra blanket, and makes my patient comfortable etc. But my first priority at all times is making sure my patients remain ALIVE. You'll see how you have to prioritize once your a nurse on the floor, and just how truly crazy that can be. I'm guessing that your experience in the hospital and your willingness to question us at allnurses says that you will become a thoughtful, considerate nurse. Good luck!

[Altra, BSN, RN]

I also take offense to you saying that I was calling anyone a slacker.

Hmm ... interesting, considering that no one used the term until you used it in your post.

And you seemed to imply that someone was slacking simply because no one looked in on your stable grandmother who had a visitor, during shift change, although staff did respond when called.

Again, I ask you to broaden your definition of "sick" and consider that your grandmother is stable. I will stick my neck out here and take an educated guess at what your grandmother's hospital plan of care includes:

IV antibiotics 2-3 times/day

breathing treatments 2-3 times/day

whatever other oral meds she normally takes 1-2 times/day

labs drawn 1-2 times/day

vital signs every 4-8 hours

she may or may not be on continuous O2

In my experience, this is a typical care plan for a pneumonia patient. If your grandmother is ambulatory, continent, and not diabetic, this is a fairly light patient assignment for her nurse. I can virtually guarantee you that that nurse's patient assignment includes sicker, more labor-intensive patients.

Bottom line: a stable patient with a visitor ... nurse or CNA did respond when called ... I don't see a problem.

I hope that, as a student, you'll consider the information you've been given in this thread to broaden your knowledge base. And I hope your grandmother is feeling better soon.