I had a situation this past week that really upset me. Since I am a brand new nurse working on a neuro step-down unit, I have no clue if this is something "normal" or if it is as horrible as I thought it was.
One of my patients was an ex-heroin addict and dealer. He isn't the nicest person in the world, but he is a patient right now and needs care. He is an incomplete quad so he needs a lot of help with most everything.
The RN I am working with, the night shift nurse giving report, and the CNA all had negative, nasty comments about this patient. It was quite obvious that none of them wanted to take care of him.
During the shift, he called me in the room and said he needed to have a bowel movement. I told him I would get someone to help me put him on the bedpan. He told me that the nurses had been telling him to just go in the bed. He is laying on a pad...no chux...just a cotton pad over his sheet.
So, I went out and found the CNA and asked her if this was true. She said it was because it was "easier" that way. I walked away and asked the same question of the RN I am with. She said "With him, yeah..we just let him go in the bed." I must have made a face because she said "You look like that bothers you." Of course it bothered me!! I can't imagine having no control over my body and then being told to just go in the bed. :angryfire :angryfire
The RN then told me that I could go ahead and give him a bedpan but that I would be in there every five minutes if I did. I responded that this was okay because I wasn't really doing anything else at the time. I went in and gave him a bedpan.
Is this standard practice, or is it pure laziness and disrespect for the patient??? I was really shocked and upset, but I didn't know if maybe it's how things work on a neuro floor with this type of injury.
Specializes in pedi, pedi psych,dd, school ,home health.
Even if it means going in every 5 minutes, THATS OUR JOB!!!! i have dealt with many of the patients others feel are "not worth it" and found that you get what you give...that goes for both scorn and respect!!!! the fact that he was glad to see you , Jamiee, means that he felt that you did respect him..good for you!!!!!
Every patient is a human being first, what t hey chose to do with their life is not really for us to judge, is it?
Could be, but that's how I see someone refusing to give a bedpan to an alert person capable and willing to ask for it: he's being forced to soil himself. Doesn't matter what their motivation was, control, disdain, whatever.
And no, I am not an expert in torture! I ran across this in a book one time, as a side note, not the main theme of the book.
I could not agree with JBudd more. It is a way of controlling and demeaning the person. I recently worked at a facility with a resident who had behavior issues. Yes that is fact he did have behavior issues that doesn't make him any less of a human. All of the workers there nurses and CNA's alike treated this man in a very rude and demeaning fashion. He may have had behaviors but he wasn't stupid he knew he was being treated badly and he reacted in kind. This particular facility which is a chain known for substandardcare is also not fond of ethical nurses willing to advocate for the resident needless to say I didn't last there long Thank God. That type of treatment of residents/pts by staff is deplorable and abusive not to mention unethical and reportable. Good for you always put your pts first and you'll do fine.
I could not agree with JBudd more. It is a way of controlling and demeaning the person.
I didn't say anything about controlling and demeaning a patient, but you do see how emotions get in the way, eh? They should certainly have a choice. But from my original point, is it safer to go in a chux or lie on a hard bedpan? Next time you sit on the toilet for 5-10 minutes have someone take a picture of that red ring on your butt when you get up. Now visualize what someone with poor nutritional status and/or no meat on their butt would look like after lying on a hard bedpan.
Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.
JamieeG - I'm curious to know how the rest of the shift went with the patient. Did he call every 5 minutes? It sounds like you developed a rapport with him...
By the way, never lose that attitude you have right now...too many of us do.
I agree with MOST of what has been said here about respecting the person no matter what they do in the "world." BUT, (y'all could see that coming:rolleyes: ) What about a patient in their right mind cussing you, "flipping you off," trying to spit on you (MRSA, VRE of the sputum), waiting until you bath them and THEN crapping in the bed...Then what???????...How much patience do you have after 3 nights of this? I am at the end of my rope and glad I am off tonight. SORRY...I didn't mean to hijack the thread. Going to bed now.
Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.
I agree with MOST of what has been said here about respecting the person no matter what they do in the "world." BUT, (y'all could see that coming:rolleyes: ) What about a patient in their right mind cussing you, "flipping you off," trying to spit on you (MRSA, VRE of the sputum), waiting until you bath them and THEN crapping in the bed...Then what???????...How much patience do you have after 3 nights of this? I am at the end of my rope and glad I am off tonight. SORRY...I didn't mean to hijack the thread. Going to bed now.
I feel your pain!!! Been there, done that!! (as the nurse, not the patient!!) There are some patients that I have had no respect whatsoever for. I always give people extra rope because they are in an extremely stressful situation, but someone who is disrespectful of me doesn't get my respect..However, respect and proper care are 2 different things. I don't have to respect someone to provide them with the best care I am capable of. Sometimes this is a lesson you have to learn the hard way, by experiencing it first hand!!
JBudd, MSN
3,836 Posts
Being forced to soil oneself is one of the techniques used in torture to break down resistance in a prisoner. :angryfire
(as in spy, POW, captive)