Went into a patient's room today - the son(patient) is a pleasant man in his 40's with mental retardation. The MD's removed his epidural today and he still has a chest tube. I tell him, "Ask for your pain medication when you need it. If you don't need it, it would be better not to take it."
Right before this - Mom had told me she was going to go home at 10 pm. But after I said this, she became irate.....she said the following.
"New nurse's don't know anything. I have been a nurse for a long time. A nurse kills 2.5 patients in her career - that's a statistic. Nurse's don't have the corner on dealing with pain and doctors don't overperscribe what patients can have. I am glad that when I am old, I won't have to worry about being in a nursing home because you young nurses will take care of me to where I don't leave the hospital."
I really tried not to be baited by what she said. I commented that she had a dim view of her professions future, that I WILL give her son pain meds when he asks for them and needs them.
She demanded to know my last name, and when I asked why, she said, " I only take down the full names of people I don't think are going to give good care to my son. His father died 6 years ago and he's all I have left."
I was stunned that someone would have such a dun view of our profession! And after I was just trying to give the patient some options!
So I had the doctor talk to her and I wrote a note detailing all this and put it in the chart. The intern said that she said she was just tired andgrumpy and she knew she was out of line.
So There you have an older nurse's view of where our profession is going.
Have any of you ever seen research data to collaborate her claims that a nurse "kills 2.5 people in their career." ?
I'd have been tempted to just smile and say "Not to worry, Mom. I've already killed my quota."
What a moron. Sorry you have to put up with such an idiot.
Good one!
OMG! PSYCHO! That lady is out there! Kinda scarey that she is a nurse but I think I read somewhere in this forum about the mental status of nurses in general. I know I have seen some people in administration positions or charge positions that I really question.
I would be money she isn't a "real nurse." Probably a washed up floor nurse that never could cut it and hates nurses now.
I find it very hard to go with all the people who are responding "she has had some hard times, let her vent, listen to her, and maybe it will get better." I really don't care how hard someone's life has been, no one has the right to light into me for no good reason. I fully believe that people behave during stressful times the same way they behave during the easy times. The correct response in this situation, for me, would have been one raised eyebrow, respond "I'll be back in a moment" and a walk out of the room directly into my supervisor's office to let her deal with this hateful person.
Exactly.. My guess is she has come unglued on others and thrives on it.
I had a drug seeking pt with a PE - hmmmm - very overweight - especially in the middle like an apple - practically kussmaul breathing sedated on MULTIPLE drugs and totally ignoring the importance of activity. Husband seemed a touch "special" - definitely ODD. He actually commented that he doesn't let her do anything when she is not working because her job is so hard. Oh ya.....you could hear her breathing a mile away with any activity. She even commented on someone hearing her in a room at work and mentioning how aweful she sounded. So husband encouraged sedentary, overuse of drugs and lying around doped up sleeping.....again - admitted with a PE. Milking the "FM" diagnosis - makes people with FM look bad.
I was fired from the room because I offended her by teaching of risks of clots and importance of breathing.....blah...blah - what they tell us to do until someone gets mad.
Later, I heard him bragging....with his silly little lisp.....about how he threatened his employer with lawyers. He spent all of his time on the phone bragging about who he told off.
My guess is she is very proud of herself for attacking people.
I want to do a survey......did her eyes seem crazy to you?
If I get out of my career now, I can leave with a "ZERO" average.....is that good or bad? Should I stay until I get my 2.5
I hope the OP's comment referred to pain meds that were written prn. If the pain meds are written for scheduled doses, then they need to be given as scheduled. Very frustrating to get those 3am calls for pain or withdrawl, only to find out that the last two scheduled "contins" weren't given.
"only to find out that the last two scheduled "contins" weren't given."
That should PO a doc unless someone was obtunded or respirs were like 4.
I haven't experienced people not understanding contins or holding them in a long time.
I did have an educator that thought the difference between oxycontin and oxycodone was chloride and sodium. There was a lot of crushed "contins" going in tube feeds until I told the docs to start writing "sustained release" after the orders. I couldn't believe that - she had been a nurse forever and was shooting for asst. manager.
The title of this thread reminds me of a seasoned nurse telling me "I just don't know about you new nurses coming up." This because I was talking about how certain docs want you to go with them into the room and just nod your head at what they say. Now I have no problem rounding if I am available, but if I rounded with all of my patients' docs then I wouldn't have time for meds, vital signs, baths, dressing changes etc. It kind of ticked me off because I give my patients the very best care that I can give- even if I can't always escort the doc about.
how can that statistic be accurate, when some people are nurses for 5 years, others 10 to 20 etc?you'd think the rate would have to increase with length of time in nursing. Also, what about the 20,30 lives you have played a part in, in saving in your 20 or so years as a nurse?
I suspect you got caught up in the "nurse kill-statistic" and didn't hear her real concerns. I suspect it was about pain control.
Calling for pain meds when you need them requires a certain level of judgement. This patient might not have that level of judgement. Mom might have imagined that if she went home, she would return to a son in unbearable pain.
I was wondering about that myself. Hmm, must be a bunch of half-dead people running around, or would that be half-alive????
Hello and Welcome to sunny Florida! :)
Anyhow, we get nutjobs like that all the time where I work. Problem is for us, that they're in that stage of Alzheimer's where they can fake some people out (including themselves) who aren't around them for long periods. So they appear to be sane just long enough to cause a lot of trouble on the unit. When the docs get wind of all the commotion - they know we just don't have time for that kind of stuff - the patient is magically DC'd to have the rest of their procedures as an outpatient, if it's at all medically possible.
The mother just apologized to me. She said I was doing a good job, and we came to an agreement on how to manage his pain without discouraging him from asking for meds.
Anybody know about the studies she refered to though>>
Don't know the studies she referred to but you have to understand this from the mothers perspective. The more you read and hear about bad things happening in hospitals the more uncomfortable you become about having a loved one in the hospital plus it sounds like mother has some unresolved issues with her husbands death, probably in a hospital too. The things you hear about are only the tip of the iceburg regarding centinal events etc and this mother is a nurse so she knows more than the non medical person about centinal events etc. It really is enough to send off warning bells. I think you were good in your directions to the patient until you told him not to ask for meds if he did not need them. That gave the impression to the mother that you may not keep her son adequately medicated so, yes, I would have stayed too.
:lol2:
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Now that's teamwork!
BrokenRNheart
367 Posts
Good one!
OMG! PSYCHO! That lady is out there! Kinda scarey that she is a nurse but I think I read somewhere in this forum about the mental status of nurses in general. I know I have seen some people in administration positions or charge positions that I really question.
I would be money she isn't a "real nurse." Probably a washed up floor nurse that never could cut it and hates nurses now.