This is going to be more of an essay than a posting. It is a subject that I feel strongly about and something I struggle to understand. The way we treat each other in the nursing/health care profession.
I have read postings on this site with a similar theme, but I want to give my personal experiences and try to relate my point.
I have been in health care for about 15 years now. Started off working as a non-licensed worker at a home for the mentally retarded. My training consisted of passing 15 questions on a medication quiz and off I went. I worked with people who were basically unskilled workers who for the most part had a good heart and were trying to earn a living. I try to think that most people are good and try to treat each other with respect. Then there was my supervisor.
I don't want to get into a long story here, but I was new to this kind of work and didn't feel comfortable reporting her when she gave cold showers to a resident who would not comply with her or washed his mouth with soap when he was not behaving. This was the first abuse I ever witnessed.
Eventually, I quit and she moved on and I am sure she is out there somewhere abusing those who she is supposed to be helping. I am wiser now, I would handle it differently if it happened again.
Later on I worked at a state owned home for the same type of clients. I witnessed an aid spray cologne in a resident's mouth for stealing her pop. I turned her in, it was my word against hers and she won. Her friends turned against me and made my life pure Hell.
So what is my point so far? People can treat each other so poorly for no reason. We all learned this in Kindergarten so why does it surprise me? Because we are all supposed to grow up and act like adults. But we don't, that's because there is no such thing as "acting like adults" it is a pure fantasy made up to create a pseudocivilized state in which decent people live.
There is a reason why we are a nation of laws, and why we have law enforcement. People can do the wrong thing and be very bad very quickly. Why? I have no idea. I suppose I have done wrong in the past, my motivation was probably for personal gain or to make my self feel better about myself.
I continue on to my nursing career. The place where human compassion is supposed to be at its peak. We are caring health care providers you know. I say that sarcastically because I feel that some of the worst people I have ever met have worn nursing uniforms.
I have never seen another nurse abuse a patient, but I have seen nurses turn on each other, get into verbal fights and try to get each other fired. All for what? It's because we are all children that never grew up. I have seen a Director of Nursing who fired 3 nurses because she was intimidated by them and had no self-esteem. She used her power to harm people who were good people and hard workers. I have seen an administrator berate her staff in front of other staff and say hurtful and harmful things. I watched two aids battle it out in the dining room; I have refereed fights in resident's rooms.
I know nursing is a stressful career, but this is ridiculous. I don't know of any other profession I have ever worked at where this has occurred.
I worked home health and heard of families constantly complaining about the nurses for petty things, getting them in trouble when they should be grateful someone came to their assistance in the first place. It is too easy to pick up the phone and ruin the career of someone who is trying there hardest to do the right thing when the family can guide the nurse the way they want.
The older I get, the more I believe in evil. I think there is a segment of the population who can do harm without regret and create workplace environments that are next to impossible to work in.
I am sure there are many stories far worse than mine out there that I haven't even tapped into. Please, somebody explain to me the human nature than makes us eat each other and spit each other out. I get so sick of the back room discussions, the snide remarks and the way we treat each other.
You know that saying, "don't go to the boss, and go to me first." Those people go to the boss to get results they want. They want you gone; they don't want to resolve any issues. It's more fun to rid you of them then start over. And that is a sad commentary as well. It is a workplace game that affects families as well as careers. When you open your mouth and speak poorly of a coworker, you are causing them far more damage than you can imagine.
So, if you are one of those people who have to cause controversy, can't keep your mouth shut, and are basically evil in nature, do us all a favor and get a job as a landing strip painter or cactus weeder in the desert because we don't need your kind. Problem is, most of us are this person.
I start RN school in August, I know nursing is the career for me, as I have been an LPN for the last 8. I have never had a problem with a resident, or patient and I know I am doing the kind of work that is the most rewarding. Now if I can get the people who do the same job I do to treat each other like the patients do, it would be fantastic and a miracle. Most of the people I work with say they do it for the patients, I have never heard anyone say they did it for the way they were treated at their jobs.
RN school for me is a new beginning. When I graduate, I will see none of this again. That is my dream. Please treat each other with the same dignity and respect you would give to your patient.
