JaneDoeDoe

Hi, I am a home health nurse and have been working with a family for a couple of years. The family and I have grown very comfortable with each other over the years. But lately, I feel as if more is being required from me than nursing. Recently, the caregiver has put all of the responsibility of doing my patient's laundry onto me. Whenever I do not get around to doing it, I can tell that they are upset with me. One time they had made a complaint about not being able to find something that is only used by them at night when I am not on shift, and made a comment about laundry being piled up and seemed pretty annoyed. I did not get to laundry that day as I was busy and the next day, they had made the same complaint. When I do laundry on Friday and it is in the dryer whenever I leave shift that day, I come back on Monday and the same clothes are in a big pile sitting there waiting for me right when I walk in the door. I do not mind doing the patient's laundry at times but the responsibility is solely on me now and if I don't do it, it doesn't get done. I am also expected to feed their pets during the day. They ask me to do different tasks for them. And sometimes when I am asked these things, it's in a demanding way. More of a statement than a question, no please or thank you. Sometimes I feel like I am a maid/housekeeper/personal assistant rather than a nurse. I want to try to handle this conflict on my own first but how the caregiver responds to a lot of things isn't always the best. We used to bump heads a lot when I first started working with them. I would like to talk to my supervisor about it but again, I know it would make things uncomfortable between me and the caregiver as they will know it is me making the complaint. I love my job and working with my patient, but I just don't know how much more I can take. I have held my tongue back a lot over the years and have been professional. I am just unsure how to go about things. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, I am a home health nurse and have been working with a family for a couple of years. The family and I have grown very comfortable with each other over the years. But lately, I feel as if more is being required from me than nursing. Recently, the caregiver has put all of the responsibility of doing my patient's laundry onto me. Whenever I do not get around to doing it, I can tell that they are upset with me. One time they had made a complaint about not being able to find something that is only used by them at night when I am not on shift, and made a comment about laundry being piled up and seemed pretty annoyed. I did not get to laundry that day as I was busy and the next day, they had made the same complaint. When I do laundry on Friday and it is in the dryer whenever I leave shift that day, I come back on Monday and the same clothes are in a big pile sitting there waiting for me right when I walk in the door. I do not mind doing the patient's laundry at times but the responsibility is solely on me now and if I don't do it, it doesn't get done. I am also expected to feed their pets during the day. They ask me to do different tasks for them. And sometimes when I am asked these things, it's in a demanding way. More of a statement than a question, no please or thank you. Sometimes I feel like I am a maid/housekeeper/personal assistant rather than a nurse. I want to try to handle this conflict on my own first but how the caregiver responds to a lot of things isn't always the best. We used to bump heads a lot when I first started working with them. I would like to talk to my supervisor about it but again, I know it would make things uncomfortable between me and the caregiver as they will know it is me making the complaint. I love my job and working with my patient, but I just don't know how much more I can take. I have held my tongue back a lot over the years and have been professional. I am just unsure how to go about things. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!