ejmonroe

I work on a hospital ortho unit as a tech (and am in nursing school). We almost always have one or two dementia patients on the unit who have fallen and broken their hips. I have witnessed several instances of what I feel is abusive behavior towards these patients by nurses and techs on the unit. Certain nurses and techs talk to these patients like they are children, joke about them in front of them, refer to caring for them as "babysitting." It happens over and over again. This is so upsetting and disturbing to me. I want to do something to stop it. Am I fighting a losing battle? Should I just let it go? I need to keep my job for tuition reimbursement. Any advice appreciated. Rehgards, EJMONROE

Thank you to all who responded. I appreciate the support.

I work as a tech on an orthopedic unit of a hospital. I am also working on pre-reqs for nursing school. Last night I had 15 demanding patients to take care of (the other tech scheduled had called in sick). I had nasty nurses barking orders at me, three incontinent patients, call lights ringing, people wanting to be taken to the bathroom....you know the scenario. No report was given when I came onto the floor. I accidently gave apple juice to an NPO (who was also on contact precautions). I had given him a quarter cup before I saw the sign on the door. I told the nurse and received a verbal lashing...she also made sure that as a pre-nursing student I realized what a huge mistake this was. She then proceeded to tell me that the poor guy was on a feeding tube, has diabetes and aspriation pneumonia and is a DNR. I am so upset. There is no excuse for giving an NPO a drink. I take full responsibility for that. But, I got no report from her when I came onto the floor. I work very hard and I love my patients. I enjoy them and their families. I take extra time and give extra attention to my dementia patients who are ignored on my unit. I am a good person and would never knowingly hurt someone. I plan to speak to the unit manager today about what happened. I am so upset. Any advise?

Maybe you could register to take the clases you need online....Many community colleges offer classes online and all you have to do is register. I'm taking stats online this semester through SUNY Online network (state university of NY) and there was no pre-req for stats. Just a thought.

Well, I made up little colored bags of candy, stuck in a cover letter and resume and delivered it to a few nurse managers at the local hospital, including the ED nurse. I called one of the four to follow up two days later and got voicemail. I'll try to other on Monday and Tuesday. Oddly enough, I got a call from that hospital on the application I filled out a month ago. This was not related to my candy/resume campaign. I'm going in on Thursday to talk to a recruiter about possible opportunities. They have unit secretary positions and a few patient care tech poisitions. Nothing available in ED right now. The PCT poisitions require 6 months of experience. I have zero. The recruiter said that some departments are more willing than others to train someone with no experience. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks for the good ideas!

Thanks for your response. I called, got the Nurse Manager's name and contact info and will send her a letter tomorrow requesting a short meeting. I'll follow up with a phone call. I'll post back here if I have luck with it. Thanks again! Regards, EJ

I'll have my CNA in early Sept. I'm hoping to find a FT position in the ED of one of the local hospitals. One hospital, in particular, will pay in full for the nursing school I most want to attend. How do I rise above the other anonymous resumes coming in the door? Who should I try to speak with? Nurse manager? Unit manager? Not sure what the position/title is of the appropriate contact in this dept. I have a bachelor's in an unrelated field. This will be a career change for me. I'm 40 years old. Thanks in advance. Regards, EJ

I'm currently working in corporate America. I'd like to change direction and go into LTC and Geriatric Nursing (I have particular interest in dementia care and geropsych...I took care of a family member for years with dementia). I'm looking into nursing schools and will take a CNA class beginning the middle of June. I will not have CNA certification until August. I am anxious to get into the field. Are there jobs out there that do not require CNA certification that I can start now, instead of waiting until I'm certified? The nursing schools in my area have unbelievable waiting lists. Any info would be helpful. Regards, EJ