Some nurses seriously need their head examined

Nurses General Nursing

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Have you ever been in a situation where you simply want to tell another nurse to kindly remove themselves from your presence before I start raising my voice?

A few days ago I was involved in a case where my patient had their member and a testicle removed. Not very pleasant at all, this patient is terminal and the procedure was to give him extra time.

You would think this patient should be treated with dignity and respect wouldn't you?

The clinical nurse in charge of this clinic announced to the entire operating room that 'he deserves it for not washing himself properly'...............................:eek:

Ummm where do I start? At the time I was just speechless. I should have told them to refrain from making disrespectful comments. Instead I stewed about it which isn't healthy but at the time I was incapable of speaking to them without using curse words.

This was wrong on so many levels. I have a sister who is undergoing chemo, for someone to say anyone deserves cancer is personal to me. We had a nursing student in the room, now they go back and tell their preceptor and students how heartless we all are. It's hard enough to gain respect from surgeons, no wonder they think we're stupid when someone makes a comment like that it reflects on ALL of us. And of course how you can stand their and look at such a horrendous wound and make a comment really is just mind boggling.

I haven't had a chance to speak with this person but I'm going to. I'm going to let them know that their comment was disturbing, inappropriate and has really offended me. And I will tell them that in future maybe they should show some leadership and maturity by treating their patients with respect.

I just cannot understand all of this. I've cried all weekend over this incident.

A tough situation for you. I understand not saying something at the time for fear of letting your anger then make you the inappropriate one, but through the years I have found that a harsh look (one that can kill) and a harsh "hey your out of line" can get the point across and shut someone up pretty quick! I would definitely follow up with this individual though.

Good luck

New RN, here....Very scarey to think that this person has become so hardened to allow themselves to say something like that to a terminal patient. Would it be at all inappropriate to have just said "That's an inappropriate comment" and let the Supervisor know immediately after the surgery? The one thing this patient has going for them is you...a caring nurse that is taking appropriate action so it doesn't happen again. KUDOS to you.

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Come on, it wasn't worth all that. She made a dumb remark. May that be the worst she ever does, the worst the OP ever hears. OP is wearing her heart on her sleeve because her sister is sick and I am truly about that and hope her sister does really well. But I do not think that a stupid remark by one nurse reflects badly on all nurses or agree that it was so terrible for the students to hear. They got a dose of reality, that's all.

That said, maybe the one who said it needs a little talking to - but not firing, being reported, anything like that.

In Canada you could get in serious trouble, or fired for that kind of professional misconduct! Maybe you've worked too long as a "nurse" and should retire, or maybe work in a correctional facility God bless you!

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Why the bagging on corrections nurses?? Now you sound like the clueless one! Picking on corrections nurse because you can't hack it??? And right or wrong it is unfortunately a dose of reality...people speak out of turn, make broad assumptions and asses out of themselves... Like you just did.

Proud Corrections nurse

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Any physical abuse, limited to rough handling, ie jerking her extremities when repositioning. This hospital had a very toxic culture, except I didn't know that term then. So the preface to this lies in a groupthink that the nurses would belittle patients who were not well-off financially. There were the "clinic" (pre-paid flat rate) and the privately insured patients. The nurses would always include this information when giving report, and make sneering comments about the "clinic" patients, were dismissive of their concerns and basically meted out the bare bones minimum of care.

One day, one of the clinic patients was there in the delivery room. She was a single mom, and her appearance must have suggested a very tough life. I'm describing what she looked like, not judging. Very thin, dry bleached hair, skin not so good. However, not a drug addict. The nurses at the outset were rude to her, but that was normal for them. After the baby was born they deliberately caused the lady to believe that something was wrong with the baby, but they wouldn't let her see her baby. Not even a glance as they went by. So the woman starts freaking out, "What's wrong with my baby???" "Why can't I see my baby???? "Plleeeeaase let me see my baby!!!" She is wailing out loud. Not one of them answered her, gave her a quick look-see, nothing. It was just cruel beyond belief.

You might have thought one of the nurses would intervene, but they didn't. So when people talk about it's really not a big deal for one nurse to say something "dumb", especially as a charge person, start to believe that stuff is acceptable, and won"t draw the line.

PS Baby was healthy.

That situation just makes me sick! As a nurse in Canada, I was considering a geographical change and move to the U.S., but now I'm seriously reconsidering.

That kind of attitude may occur here, but the level of our accountability and the penalties for professional misconduct gives rise to a system in which that kind of behaviour if seen and reported is usually dealt with strictly (in my experience).

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Specializes in geriatrics, medsurg, group homes.

You can't cure stupid and inconsiderate and this is what this nurse is. I have been an oncology nurse for 2 years now and my brother passed away 3 years ago from pancreatic cancer. This nurse should be reprimended for the statement that she has made...............

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If you are Jewish, why is it offensive that someone remembered you as being Jewish?

I'm black. I can only imagine how often someone describes me as "the black guy". Well, I am black. If someone else has trouble with that, that's their problem, not mine. And why should I assume it's negative to be referred to as something that I truly am?

Well, as a matter of fact, I don't refer to my coworkers by their skin color. And that really is not a good description given the different hues that people come in these days.

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Well, let's see.

If someone at work was transferred off the unit, and a floated staffer ask, "Oh, where is that nurse, the smart one that used charge a lot, that was good at IVs, yada yada, with red hair and glasses, my first thought would not be to say, "Oh, you mean Jamie the AME Methodist/the Greek Orthodox/PCA Presbyterian/King's Avenue Baptist. There are a lot of other aspects of them to focus on.

You see Jewish is not the totality of my being, and it is also not what the focus on me at work is. And the vast majority of coworkers would not know that I am Jewish, though if asked my religion, I tell the them. But to describe as that, with no other description, shows what my coworker thought of me....not my skills, hair color, knowledge, glasses-wearing status, personality, family status or other things that might draw a picture to the inquirer. But my religion.

I can guarantee that when referring to Maria, she didn't refer to her as the Greek Orthodox nurse, or when she was asked about Jane (the pastor's wife), she didn't describe her as an Evangelical Christian as away to ID here. But with my red hair and blue eyes, the perfect way to describe me was "Oh, you mean caroladybelle, the Jew".

What does your response have to do with the original thread? Why do some Black Americans do this? I'm a Trini living in Canada and I encounter racism pretty much every day. You're wasting your energy trying to correct ignorance, especially in the wrong forum.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

People need to stick to the original topic and stop going off on tangents. Stop the flaming.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care, Cardiac, EMS.
People need to stick to the original topic and stop going off on tangents. Stop the flaming.

Fair enough. I got irritated and spoke out of turn. I apologize.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

I'm just saying, keep it up and the mods will close the thread. There are ways to discuss matters without being snarky and a few of the last posts have been rather snarky.

Back to the OP:

I posted early on in this thread. I'm sorry, there should be more accountability in this country as far as behavior of nurses is concerned. This nurse was rude, inappropriate, nasty, calleous, stupid..etc. She should be suspended or fired. The fact that no one reported her is another form of sick onto itself.

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WOW! OMG! I had an instructor who talked about everyone she came in contact with it was repulsive she could not control herself even if she tried. We as health care professionals I feel that if after a while you find yourself being more and more heartless than it's time to hang it up that's just plain mean and idiotic. Why would you say such a uneducated thing. Most of the time it is just to see how far they can push there humor but 99.9% of the time being sick or having any illness is not humorous. Please pray for this person, I am the type of person who would have told her right than and there, but you were upset so it seems, so kudos for stepping back and addressing the problem at a later time. You take care and I hope you and your family the best as far as coping with your sister and all. The joke that was posted above ha ha priceless:yeah:. God bless

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care, Cardiac, EMS.

I posted early on in this thread. I'm sorry, there should be more accountability in this country as far as behavior of nurses is concerned. This nurse was rude, inappropriate, nasty, calleous, stupid..etc. She should be suspended or fired. The fact that no one reported her is another form of sick onto itself.

See, and I think that nurses are held to higher standards than ANY other professionals. While I agree that the nurse's comments in the OP were WAY out of line, I don't think we need to be building gallows, publicly flogging her, or even writing pink slips at this time. I've heard far worse from Neurosurgeons, Cardiovascular surgeons, lawyers, the list goes on. You hear worse daily from so-called news professionals, it's just phrased better. We have gotten far less civil over the years, and far more "politically correct." We are far more concerned with policing other people's behavior and making sure that someone else gets punished for something they did than making sure we do the things we ought to do.

I think that what other people have said in earlier posts is the best response - and it's one I've often used myself to good effect. Something along the lines of "Really." Or "That's pretty inappropriate, don't you think?" Or even "I beg your pardon?" in the right tone of voice, does wonders for one of these morons. There is no need to make a huge issue over it - you won't change someone's mind, but you can at least take a stand against the behavior and I bet the person thinks about it.

Just my :twocents:.

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***?! I seriously wonder how these jerks get into nursing school in the first place. I guess it's not required to have a good bed-side manner, but it SHOULD be!:eek:

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