I've read many comments on this board about how nurses are often treated disrespectfully, and as a soon-to-be nursing student this has been on my mind a lot lately. I used to think that it was 1 patient in 100 that might be a bit rude but given some posts around here, it seems like it may be more common than I think.
I've been working as a technologist for 2 years and I've never felt disrespected by my patients nor by my employer. I had a patient yesterday who is an RN. I mentioned that I was going to become an RN too and that I have a lot of respect and admiration for nurses. She basically told me not to go into nursing expecting to be treated with respect, and that I should definitely become an NP if I go down the nursing route.
In general, how respected do you feel at work? What kind of setting do you work in? Any insight would be appreciated!
I feel like people give a lot of lip service to the idea of respecting nurses - hence why we rate so high as most trusted, etc. However, it's only one out of five awake patients, if that, who actually make me feel like they appreciate me and what I'm doing. Most of the awake ones are too busy riding my butt about getting their pain meds, psych meds, or freshening up their ice to be appreciative.
I think this is kind of patient population specific. If you work somewhere that you do "real" good - somewhere that patients actually get better and go home - I think they appreciate you more. However, the chronics seem to be less thankful. I work with mostly patients with chronic illnesses.
I think you have a point that nurses DO have billable charges and I see this through working in an ED and our documentation does generate billable charges.
Also keep in mind that aspects of our scope and practice in most places are asthma teaching, vent management and neb treatments; even PT and OT can be most certainly done by nurses-I have done all those things in settings outside of the hospital; even in the hospital and in rehab hospitals after the initial teaching, the care is placed on nursing staff to continue the rehab process-it doesn't needing and end with therapy.
Suffice to say there are aspects of you post that miss the point that nursing doesn't disrespect other positions we encompass those settings and it is nursing's responsibility in many settings, and most of us appreciate that aspect where there are other parts of the healthcare team, but the reality is that we can and have been do in the bulk of those therapies; the recognition of nursing care transcends and IMHO, it's high time that we are charged for it, and THAT is a good thing.
Your entire post was disrespectful to RTs, PTs and OTs. I am going to tell you what nurses love to tell Paramedics. It takes more than just doing a few skills to be just like another profession. You seem to have disregarded the fact that PTs and OTs have Masters and Doctorate degrees specializing in an area where you may do only a few skills in. Nursing is still only an Associates degree with a generalist approach. You seem to totally miss the team concept by believing nurses do it all. Why should a hospital even want to hire worthless RTs, PTs and OTs if they have nurses who do everything? BTW, did you happen to read any of the discussions about oxygen on this forum? Scary at best when they don't have someone who has more knowledge than what nursing school taught about oxygen.
A typical hospital room charge can be up to $15,000 per day with almost an 80% reimbursement by Medicare. Medicare reimburses $5 per neb and $25 per EKG which is 10% or less. Subsequent nebulizers get no reimbursement in OP setting like the ER. Why do you think there are no RTs, PTs, and OTs in the ER or most long term care facilities including the rehab one where you must do it all? There is no reimbursement for their services or the reimbursement. I would really like to have myself or a family member's physical therapy directed by someone who has specialized in Physical Therapy and cared enough to spend over 6 years in college for that degree than have someone who must do it as just another skill as a jack of all but master of........ Just remember, all of the allied health services at one time were well reimbursed but this reimbursement was cut. You can ask for reimbursement but it can go away and then where you will be. You can be you will be taking on more tasks and many more patients per each nurse.
Your entire post was disrespectful to RTs, PTs and OTs. I am going to tell you what nurses love to tell Paramedics. It takes more than just doing a few skills to be just like another profession. You seem to have disregarded the fact that PTs and OTs have Masters and Doctorate degrees specializing in an area where you may do only a few skills in.
WHERE did I disrespect members of the healthcare team?? :rolfmao:
ACTUALLY stating the truth of my experiences is far from disrespectful
Let me say it simple since you continue to miss the MARK-DUH I know that PT and OT ad SLP have Master's and Doctorates; I have worked with them extensively over the years and have had courses with prospective students when I was prospective nursing student, so you cant enlighten someone who is ENLIGHTED already.
Seems as though you care bent on disrespecting nurses, as what this thread is really about...
Unless you know MY EXPERIENCES, or me in real life, take your misplaced indignation and distain for nurses away from a NURSING SITE.
But I will respond to your absurd post just for piss and giggles.
Nursing is still only an Associates degree with a generalist approach. You seem to totally miss the team concept by believing nurses do it all. Why should a hospital even want to hire worthless RTs, PTs and OTs if they have nurses who do everything? BTW, did you happen to read any of the discussions about oxygen on this forum? Scary at best when they don't have someone who has more knowledge than what nursing school taught about oxygen.
You MUST not be a nurse; my schooling or my career experiences have not been just about "oxygen teaching" and a nurse or nursing student would know about THAT, which, clearly, YOU DON'T.
If you knew how to navigate the website better, and was really attempting to understand my response to you, and know me in real life, you would know my experiences, because I don't BS them; I have a clear understanding and rationales of the WHY of my practice, and that I was an LPN first-guess you have a problem with LPNs as well- and worked and learned competencies and practices BY RRTs, OTS, SLPs, and PTs; the respect and understanding was from their own school of thought in my PN and BSN program as well as my own schooling is that nurse SPEND THE MOST TIME WITH PATIENTS. Maybe you find that unfair, however this is not the time, nor the thread to have you rantings or rationale about it-and CERTAINLY not with ME, take it up with CMS, start research proposals, use EBP, and promote a movement where you can get the respect you seem to be seeking- you wont get it from me by disrespecting my posts or directing information that I am so very well versed in or to goad your ridiculous indignation towards me
A typical hospital room charge can be up to $15,000 per day with almost an 80% reimbursement by Medicare. Medicare reimburses $5 per neb and $25 per EKG which is 10% or less. Subsequent nebulizers get no reimbursement in OP setting like the ER. Why do you think there are no RTs, PTs, and OTs in the ER or most long term care facilities including the rehab one where you must do it all? There is no reimbursement for their services or the reimbursement. I would really like to have myself or a family member's physical therapy directed by someone who has specialized in Physical Therapy and cared enough to spend over 6 years in college for that degree than have someone who must do it as just another skill as a jack of all but master of........ Just remember, all of the allied health services at one time were well reimbursed but this reimbursement was cut. You can ask for reimbursement but it can go away and then where you will be. You can be you will be taking on more tasks and many more patients per each nurse.
THIS part of your post makes me laugh...I was talking about NURSING CARE in the community setting...something you have NO idea about, and you may have never been a pt with home health services; again, if you took the time to research who you are responding to instead of responding with disdain and ignorance towards me you would be aware of my near death experience and my subsequent recovery which involved home care; I got PT in the home ONCE, and was left with instructions, and also teaching towards my family members what to do. In home health, especially with my Pedi cases, it's the SAME THING, with the exception is that there is a plan in place and the collaboration is seamless because we are aware of joint ROM and have that knowledge and proper body mechanic positioning; same thing with understanding OT modalities, or even SLP techniques-those aspects of information of theory and application in the 10 years of being a nurse along with foundation form my formulative schooling helps my patients optimally; and as I nurse, the day I master it ALL, I can retire a rich woman.
As far as this CMS bit- you're not telling me anything that I don't know, I have worked and have knowledge on the other side of CMS and hospital economics with my "measly BSN nursing generalist degree" even though I have work as such as a LPN and have worked with my ear on the ground with such policies by understanding it backwards and forwards; if anything the consensus of ; if anything, working with making polices and it seems that if anything, CMS recognizes that nurses spend MORE time with the pt and have come to have to reinforce the bulk of any modalities, especially in a community setting; notwithstanding that with also EBP about health outcomes and acuity; CMS has developed and tracks health acuity and outcomes based on nursing care; I worked in a hospital that had such software that tracked acuity and time with the pt; something promising, if done right, can move towards nursing being billed for their hours more accurately, on top of the hourly rate; I look forward in making such policies while continuing to promote nurse ratios-that's nursing done RIGHT.
Look at my siggy line-your responses and many for you intentional derailments and postin into your mock-superiority to look down at nurses or accuse nurse on this site to pot stir are useless- this time you need to put your bat down and either contribute to how nurses aren't disrespected or disrespectful, or start a new thread at this point.
please just realize that you are the "middle man/woman" between everyone. The RN is between the patient and doctor, between patient and family, between patient and therapies like OT, PT, respiratory, case management etc. you are the one spending the most time with the patient. The patient sees the RN most. everything goes through the RN. hospitals are not (usually) happy environments for patients, so you will bear the brunt of frustration, anger sadness, fear, etc. coming from the patient, and especially their family. in my experience there is a lot more disrespect than thank-you's and gratitude for saving a life. The nurse sometimes becomes the whipping post for the patient, the doctor, the family. I do believe it is a very thankless job. occasionally, there will be days you feel like you made a difference. even though being respected doesn't matter a lot to most nurses I think that it's harder to do a job well when you're disrespected by patients/family.
WHERE did I disrespect members of the healthcare team?? :rolfmao:
ACTUALLY stating the truth of my experiences is far from disrespectful
Let me say it simple since you continue to miss the MARK-DUH I know that PT and OT ad SLP have Master's and Doctorates; I have worked with them extensively over the years and have had courses with prospective students when I was prospective nursing student, so you cant enlighten someone who is ENLIGHTED already.
Seems as though you care bent on disrespecting nurses, as what this thread is really about...
Unless you know MY EXPERIENCES, or me in real life, take your misplaced indignation and distain for nurses away from a NURSING SITE.
But I will respond to your absurd post just for piss and giggles.
You MUST not be a nurse; my schooling or my career experiences have not been just about "oxygen teaching" and a nurse or nursing student would know about THAT, which, clearly, YOU DON'T.
If you knew how to navigate the website better, and was really attempting to understand my response to you, and know me in real life, you would know my experiences, because I don't BS them; I have a clear understanding and rationales of the WHY of my practice, and that I was an LPN first-guess you have a problem with LPNs as well- and worked and learned competencies and practices BY RRTs, OTS, SLPs, and PTs; the respect and understanding was from their own school of thought in my PN and BSN program as well as my own schooling is that nurse SPEND THE MOST TIME WITH PATIENTS. Maybe you find that unfair, however this is not the time, nor the thread to have you rantings or rationale about it-and CERTAINLY not with ME, take it up with CMS, start research proposals, use EBP, and promote a movement where you can get the respect you seem to be seeking- you wont get it from me by disrespecting my posts or directing information that I am so very well versed in or to goad your ridiculous indignation towards me
THIS part of your post makes me laugh...I was talking about NURSING CARE in the community setting...something you have NO idea about, and you may have never been a pt with home health services; again, if you took the time to research who you are responding to instead of responding with disdain and ignorance towards me you would be aware of my near death experience and my subsequent recovery which involved home care; I got PT in the home ONCE, and was left with instructions, and also teaching towards my family members what to do. In home health, especially with my Pedi cases, it's the SAME THING, with the exception is that there is a plan in place and the collaboration is seamless because we are aware of joint ROM and have that knowledge and proper body mechanic positioning; same thing with understanding OT modalities, or even SLP techniques-those aspects of information of theory and application in the 10 years of being a nurse along with foundation form my formulative schooling helps my patients optimally; and as I nurse, the day I master it ALL, I can retire a rich woman.
As far as this CMS bit- you're not telling me anything that I don't know, I have worked and have knowledge on the other side of CMS and hospital economics with my "measly BSN nursing generalist degree" even though I have work as such as a LPN and have worked with my ear on the ground with such policies by understanding it backwards and forwards; if anything the consensus of ; if anything, working with making polices and it seems that if anything, CMS recognizes that nurses spend MORE time with the pt and have come to have to reinforce the bulk of any modalities, especially in a community setting; notwithstanding that with also EBP about health outcomes and acuity; CMS has developed and tracks health acuity and outcomes based on nursing care; I worked in a hospital that had such software that tracked acuity and time with the pt; something promising, if done right, can move towards nursing being billed for their hours more accurately, on top of the hourly rate; I look forward in making such policies while continuing to promote nurse ratios-that's nursing done RIGHT.
Look at my siggy line-your responses and many for you intentional derailments and postin into your mock-superiority to look down at nurses or accuse nurse on this site to pot stir are useless- this time you need to put your bat down and either contribute to how nurses aren't disrespected or disrespectful, or start a new thread at this point.
OK, I'm over YOU.
Could you be any more insulting and disrespectful toward another professional in healthcare who is not a nurse? You intentionally used offensive words and those silly smiley things to insult me.
If you bothered to look up any of my posts you would have seen extensive discussions about the Community Paramedic who is now very much involved in home health. Paramedics also know quite a bit about Home Health since it is usually to a HOME where Paramedics are called when something happens and the home health nurse or family needs assistance.
I don't know all the details about your near death experience. Did you need a Paramedic? Maybe you didn't need more days with a Physical Therapist. Maybe your insurance would not allow it which is why Community Paramedics are now being brought in to fill the cracks which people slip through. Obviously you are very bitter. But, to continue to state a nurse can do it all and think so little of all of the others on your so called team is just in poor form. I bet you are quick to point this out in the work place just to show the RTs, PTs and OTs where they actually stand as "team members".
I think many nurses will agree they can't spend as much time as they would like with a patient. I know PT, OT and Speech will schedule time with a patient which can be up to 1 hour of uninterrupted time. Go to a rehab facility specializes in traumatic brain injuries and you will see how much time PTs and OTs spend with a patient each day. Read their assessments. They should not be dismissed as just the folks who come in to walk a patient or do a little ROM. I do respect these professionals and I have seen up close what they can do especially when it comes to the men and women who served this country and need specialized care.
Attitudes and posts like yours are why other professionals don't give you the respect YOU think YOU deserve. I think that is much of the problem when some people think they deserve more respect than anyone could ever give and then get disappointed or bitter when no one lives up to their expectations for giving respect.
I will give my attention and respect to anyone who is deserving of it and not just because of your RN title. I wouldn't expect any less from someone else either.
All these employers who apparently disparage their nursing staff because they don't rack up the billable charges would do well to remember that the *entire* reason anybody, anywhere, is admitted to an inpatient or LTC setting is solely and 100% because of the need for 24/7 nursing care.
If they didn't need the *nursing* care, it would all just be done on an outpatient basis. Patients can obtain therapy or see their PCP by making an appointment to go to an office or a clinic for an hour and then go home. But the second they become sick or infirm enough to require hands on, around the clock care, they become nursing's problem.
Nurses are the reason hospitals and nursing homes exist. Without us, there wouldn't even be a place for any of the money-makers to bill their services in the first place. So, it really makes no sense for nurses to be considered a drain on the budget.
Nurses are the reason hospitals and nursing homes exist. Without us, there wouldn't even be a place for any of the money-makers to bill their services in the first place. So, it really makes no sense for nurses to be considered a drain on the budget.
I think some don't understand billing, services and reimbursement.
Do you think the RTs, PTs and OTs get to keep the money they "bill" for? In the hospital, the services are coded and billed by the hospital and not the individuals. The individual's responsibility is to see the correct charting is done just like nurses. But, like here in Oregon and Washington, RNs make well over $35/hour while RTs make on $20 - $25/hour. Do you see RTs making serious bank off their billables? Most of them are being laid off and replaced by others (EMTs and Paramedics) because their "billables" are no longer bringing in money for the hospital. I do remember when RTs were part of the hospital ER team and some said there used to be 3x more than there are now employed by some hospitals. PTs and OTs are also having their problems and raised their education to be more viable and valuable. In long term care, many professions get left out because there is not enough money given by the one lump sum to cover the cost of everyone. That explains why nurses in the oxygen discussion have no RTs to turn to for help.
Be very thankful you chose nursing and not a profession which could be easily replaced by some CMS budget cut. Even EMS has its issues with the contract and tax base situations. But at least EMS is still trying to get out into the community to help people despite low pay and long hours. Most EMTs still make just above minimum wage and Paramedics don't make much more than the EMTs with the ambulance service charging per ambulance ride. If the EMTs and Paramedics didn't get the patient to the hospital alive, no need for nursing care. When there aren't adequate number of PTs and OTs to assist in rehab, the patient stays longer. See how that team stuff works?
Bottomline, it is still the patient who suffers in the end while nurses continue to pick fights against others while making a good wage considering the entry level of education is still low if you compare it to other professionals. Try seeing the concept of a team approach for the benefit of the patient. Stop with the "only nurses can do it" attitude and others might respect you more. I know quite a few people, including other nurses, reading some of the comments are probably losing respect for nurses.
Brandon if you want more pay, get your RN license.
we encompass those settings and it is nursing's responsibility in many settings, and most of us appreciate that aspect where there are other parts of the healthcare team, but the reality is that we can and have been do in the bulk of those therapies; the recognition of nursing care transcends and IMHO, it's high time that we are charged for it, and THAT is a good thing. 
you're not telling me anything that I don't know, I have worked and have knowledge on the other side of CMS and hospital economics with my "measly BSN nursing generalist degree" even though I have work as such as a LPN and have worked with my ear on the ground with such policies by understanding it backwards and forwards; if anything the consensus of ; if anything, working with making polices and it seems that if anything, CMS recognizes that nurses spend MORE time with the pt and have come to have to reinforce the bulk of any modalities, especially in a community setting; notwithstanding that with also EBP about health outcomes and acuity; CMS has developed and tracks health acuity and outcomes based on nursing care; I worked in a hospital that had such software that tracked acuity and time with the pt; something promising, if done right, can move towards nursing being billed for their hours more accurately, on top of the hourly rate; I look forward in making such policies while continuing to promote nurse ratios-that's nursing done RIGHT.
calivianya, BSN, RN
2,418 Posts
I feel like people give a lot of lip service to the idea of respecting nurses - hence why we rate so high as most trusted, etc. However, it's only one out of five awake patients, if that, who actually make me feel like they appreciate me and what I'm doing. Most of the awake ones are too busy riding my butt about getting their pain meds, psych meds, or freshening up their ice to be appreciative.
I think this is kind of patient population specific. If you work somewhere that you do "real" good - somewhere that patients actually get better and go home - I think they appreciate you more. However, the chronics seem to be less thankful. I work with mostly patients with chronic illnesses.