Hi all
I am going into my last year of nursing school and I currently work as a CNA at a major hospital in my area. I’ve been at this job for over a year, but I am growing tired of the verbal (and sometimes physical) abuse by patients. I have had to hide quite a few times to cry over attempts to punch or assault me and most recently last week due to humiliation by a patient. Most of my job is doing 1:1 and I find almost everyone has some psychiatric issue! You try to be compassionate to the best of your ability but 8 hours of being called every name of the book and cursed out gets tiring. Last week I had a middle age woman on a 1:1 for elopement scream at me, call me any and every vulgar word I could imagine, and when I reported it to the nurse she just goes “she’s being verbally abusive?” When I of course answered yes she just said okay. I did not want to cut the chain of command so I let her know then the charge nurse who just responded “she’s crazy”. Fast forward she runs out to the nursing station and begins screaming calling me a “dumb f’in tech who doesn’t know sh-“ and how I’m a “b-“.
I know they say don’t take it personal but to be called those things in front of other staff and to just hear that for hours without end becomes exhausting.
I feel a lack of support and am looking for a new job but am fully self supportive and need the job to pay my bills. Could any nurses or CNA give guidance on how to put my best foot forward for the time being and/or how to deal with such patients?
Do you kill them with kindness (think Mormon style) or completely ignore them (can’t leave the room because of a 1:1) or put your foot down and say you’re not allowed to do that? I’m not sure how to beat handle these kinds of situations?
Is this an issue you’d bring to nursing management? I don’t want to be known as a complainer!
Side note: the doctors wouldn’t give her medication (Ex: Ativan) to calm her down until she became “physical” (their wording) with me.
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