ECKPowers

It's really no different than an x-ray, ultrasound, MRI, or CT. Scan. It's their body. It's just an area where a picture might not usually be taken. As a patient I've taken pictures of some pretty cool bruises, it's kind of a trophy. LOL. My husband just had ACL surgery, we took pictures of the knee so we could send to his mother. It's not a big deal. Provided, it's not of a delicate area.

LOL By all means! I just said it one day and it stuck...

That's assault. Unwarranted and unwelcome touching in a threatening manner is assault. I wouldn't talk to her. I'd speak to charge nurse, house supervisor, administration and law enforcement. Most facilities have a no tolerance rule regarding assault. She should be fired. NOW! I wouldn't waste my time speaking to her. I would worry that if she'd do that to you, in front of a patient, what does she do behind closed doors with other patients? She's obviously unstable. Good luck! (( PS. You were far nicer than I would have been. I'm afraid I would have taken her to the hopper room and handled her! ))

Your compassion drove you to document this mans pain and suffering. Perhaps not only did you help him but I'm sure whoever did this has done it before. Now social services and law enforcement will be able to deal with those who commited such horrific abuse. You've probably helped to break a cycle of abuse. Your grace and love is a testimony for all of us. PS. I think it's wonderful that your heart broke and you wept. If we cannot know heartbreak we cannot know joy. Your mother obviously raised you right!

Thats just shag nasty. Tell that woman to send her mom to Walgreens for some wax! Nurses have better things to do.And it's still shag nasty!

It just seems to me that natural birth would be best for Mommy and baby. I would also think that if a mother had to have pain relief (medicine) for post C-section pain, then her milk would be worthless. The baby needs the milk. And mommy needs to be able to get back on her feet. A gaping hole in the gut could hinder newborn care.

In the past few months I've heard of Ob's actually scheduling C-sections for convenience. A friend of mine recently went to a local OB when she found out she was pregnant. At the first appointment the doc informed her he would schedule a c-section when her time came. At the first visit? He went as far as to imply that a c-section or induced labor is far more confenient for both the mother and the doctor. We did some polls of other women in the community, and the story was the same throughout. One mother of four reported the OB informed her that there is less of a risk of malpractice with c-section. (Yes, she switched doctors) Ummm... that seems ridiculous! As a woman who has given birth, I know well the body's natural instincts toward pregnancy and labor. Our bodies are designed for pregnancy and childbirth. I would think that natural birth would be best for mother and baby. And to schedule major surgery for convenience borders on ethics violations. Or am I completely missing something? As nurses have you witnessed something like this? Your thoughts on it?

Again, my only experience is as a patient. So I offer my two cents worth with my own grain of salt. LOL In laymans terms, medicine is a constantly evoloving entity. Practices that were acceptable and demanded ten years ago may not be the same practices that are acceptable now. Doctors and nurses CANNOT ever know all diseases, disorders, sicknesses, etc. That's why there are specialities. "Dangerous" nurses or doctors, to me, would be those that ignore the evolution of the health care field. Being a nurse does not require empathy, compassion, caring, or sympathy. A nurses job requires applied skills and learned treatments from education. A nurse doesn't have to treat someone with empathy to fully perform their job.

I suppose this counts under this section. I had to get my port flushed yesterday. I went to the oncology clinic (as usual) and I heard another patient growling yelling at the nurse. Of course, being the nosey person that I am, I sat quietly listening to what he was yelling. I can't believe this idiot was whining about his TWO sticks for a lab draw. TWO! And we are talking about a butterfly. Stubbing my toe hurts worse! I wanted to yell at him " Oh yeah! Like the highlight of that woman's day is to stand there and take your crap while she's trying to do her job......And her job is to HELP you!" Seriously folks, I couldn't take that. I would have....well...it would have been a darn good thing he was already in the hospital!

It's not illegal. And it's NONE of our business what she does. She asked about legality. Not everyone's personal moral opinions.

Now that annoy's me. We are talking about understanding of foreign accents. Not race or ability. Sheesh. Why do people always play the race card? It's NOT about race. It's about whether I as the patient can understand what the nurse is saying. PS. Anyone who automatically jumps to racism without knowing all the facts...just shows their own racism.

*Eye Roll*

I have many MD's that are foreign born. If I don't understand them I ask them to please ask someone else to come and see if they can understand it and relay it to me. It's NOT a big deal. But everyone is making it a big deal.

Thanks. You all are right. It's not a prejudice at all. If I were to go to Wal Mart and I couldn't get help from the beauty section, because she ONLY spoke Spanish. I would be forced to seek out someone else. That's a place where I expect the employees to be helpful to customers and not cause frustration. HOWEVER! If I were to go to a Korean resturant, that I KNEW only had Korean speaking waiters, I would be completely ignorant to ask for someone who spoke English In the end the outcome is the same. Patients have rights. The right to communicate with their caregiver and understand the course of treatment. And if you are foreign born and have an accent, I am sorry if it seems I am singling you out. That is not my intention. This is a serious issue for many patients. Riddle me this boys and girls, If you have a Deaf patient, do you not make sure they get a translator? There's no difference between the need for a translator and the need to understand your nurse. Marinate this: If it were you or your family member wouldn't you want them to completey understand the nurse. Frustration only causes the patient more stress........and could really ruin a nurses day if that patients goes Postal.

Not a nurse, but I said it.

My ONLY issue as a patient is this: if I can't understand you I will nicely ask to speak to someone else. It's not personal. It's MY health. MY body.

Hiondfa Ligfoasdfkasd fkadl godaoqweruc dnasdirll gjuiasdovnm aleirakdn! That's what I hear when a heavily accented person tries to speak Engilsh and fails miserably. I need to understand my medical professionals. It's imperative to my health. And I agree with Toxic!

Cause they don't want to slap a co-worker when they can't understand them?

W:OW! And we are back to you putting words in my mouth. I said patients should be able to understand and trust their nurse. When the nurse is unable to communicate well with his/her patients they appear uneducated and unprofessional. And as a patient I DESERVE a nurse I can communicate with. It's imperative for my medical well being. I DO NOT BELIEVE AMERICAN NURSES ARE SUPERIOR TO NURSES FROM OTHER COUNTRIES. (Did that make it easier to digest? Marinate on it awhile and see if you can absorb it) If I went to an attorney, and his grammar was atrocious, his demeanor difficult to understand and didn't seem to want to make sure I understood him and his plan of action. I wouldn't hire him. Period.

I wasn't saying or implying you were. Something you wrote reminded me of something else. Sheesh! When I call my husband Egghead it sometimes reminds me to pick up eggs at Wal Mart. Man.

"Just a patient"? Subconscienc slipping of the tongue? I may be " just a patient ", but us " patients " keep nurses in jobs. ********** My own spelling at 3 am is horrific ************** Subconscious even! I have even heard nurses complaining about foreign born nurses grammar, spelling and English on nurses notes. If someone doesn't have a complete grasp of English, even other nurses will have difficulty with their notes. That is both frustrating and dangerous!

^^ That reminded me of another aspect of foreign born nurses that I hadn't mentioned. The incorrect grammar issue. Not only is it difficult to understand the accents, the horrific and incorrect grammar is a barrier as well. Using correct grammar is imperative in a professional setting. Otherwise the nurse ends up coming across as uneducated, unprofessional, rude and incompetent. Unfortunately that's the world we live in. LOL @ " Since you went there"

Perhaps it's just best to put it simply and plainly. I, as the patient, want a nurse I can understand and that knows what he/she is doing. Before a foreign born nurse starts a job here, they should be able to fully speak English and know US Policies in regards to medicine. I know they have to pass a test and go through a class on speaking English. But we all know that's not enough. And um... there are lawsuits in regards to the " language barrier " and improper care by foreign nurses. And calling those " mistakes " is insulting to all nurses. Mistakes happen occasionally. When a patient continually has seen, first hand, foreign nurses accents and practices a hinderance more than a help, there is a problem. Patients may whine, gripe, and complain about foreign nurses. Yes, some of it probably is prejudice. But when many people are saying the exact same thing, then there is definitely a problem. I did NOT say that American nurses are better than foreign born nurses.

Patients have the right and the need to understand what the nurse is telling them. It's sometimes a life and death issue. A good nurse is a good nurse. It doesn't matter where he/she came from. A good nurse would also know, to make sure his/her patient can understand what is being said. A good nurse would take it upon his/herself to seek out assistance from another nurse if the patient was suffering with the language barrier. That's not saying American nurses are better than foreign ones. Please do not put words into my mouth. Also I am not implying, I am stating for a fact that I have seen nurses from all over practicing procedures that are not allowed here in the US. I do not believe that all nursing programs and medical systems around the world are all the same. And that their methods do not always parallel our own. When I have had foreign born nurses tell me that they didn't know something, that I as the patient did, it's unsettling and a bit scary as the patient. Perhaps if I put it to a scenario: Lets say a doctor may have an opinion on how to care for a patient and what their methods would be. And the patient goes for a second opinion. The next doctor may not agree with the methods the first doctor had suggested. Although the outcome may be similar, the methods were different. I have a friend that is an Australian nurse. She has worked here in the States, in Perth Australia, and in New Zealand. She says that the accepted course of treatment in each are very different.

The only type of nurses that I fear are the ones that are too lazy and unmotivated to learn the correct way to do things.Or are too lazy to do their job. At seven months pregnant I was in a car accident. I was brought to the local hospital and placed on the OB floor. The nurse came in and asked about my symptoms. I had a burning feeling under my right breast, my bottom hurt and I was having contractions. The fetal monitor showed some contractions and a slightly reduced fetal heartrate. I was never undressed. I was allowed to get up and go the bathroom myself. The doctor NEVER came to examine me. The hospital staff failed to follow their own policy. And had been written up before for their slapdash on call system! The nurse/doc refused to call my Perinatologist! Even the paramedic that came up to the room to fill out his paperwork was astonished when the nurse said the doctor wasn't going to come in and check me, even though he was at the nurses desk! The medic even volunteered to take my husband and I to our specialist! Here I was knowing that something wasn't right, and I was dealing with a nurse who was obviously refusing to do her job, and a doctor who had momentarily lost his flea flippin mind! Finally we walked out of the hospital and drove to my specialists office downtown. Lo and behold, my placenta was tearing, there was bleeding occuring, I was in labor and I was dialating! I had to be given Mag Sulf and given steriods to rapidly develop my son's heartbeat. Had I just gone home I don't think my little boy would be here today. I was contacted by the state because someone had reported the doctor and nurse for an EMTALA violation. I was able to successfully sue the hospital. So yes, there are some nurses and doctors that are very dangerous to patients. Bad apples in every bunch.