Something a nurse said to me at clinicals...

[ohcomeon]

and I cannot stop thinking about it. Last week at clinicals, I was taking care of an elderly gentleman. He had surgery a few days prior and was having repeated bouts of nausea and diarrhea. He felt really bad as he couldn't get out of bed and kept apologizing. I told him that he didn't need to apologize, that's what I was there for. Well the nurse was just disgusted with this man and on her way out of the room says to me "well he will be dead soon anyways". I was so shocked she would say that. Honestly. I mean if that is the way she feels, then why in the hell is she a nurse??? I just cannot believe that someone in such a supposed "caring" profession would even think, let alone verbalize something like that. She said this in the room! This man was completely aware of what was going on. My heart just broke for him. And honestly, I am mad at myself for not saying something to the nurse. Ok, that's all. I just wanted to get that off my chest.

[BabyLady, BSN, RN]

I also wanted to add, that I am fairly certain that the patient did not hear what the nurse said. Thank God! I will speak with my instructor about this on Tuesday. I realize that it's the best thing to do. Thanks for all the advice guys!

Just keep in mind, that in nursing ethics, you wouldn't even say this in a patient's room even if they were unconscious.

To me, the nurse you were with that day is the shining example of those that give nursing a bad name and need to find another job or seriously consider retirement.

[heron, ASN, RN]

So ... was there any follow-up with the patient? Or was this all about the staff?

[ohcomeon]

Well I haven't been back to the hospital or seen my clinical instructor since this incident. I will be back on Tuesday when I will address this with her. As for the patient, when I stated that he was aware, what I really meant was that he was alert and oriented, not aware of what she had said. Sorry, I should have clarified what I meant by that. I can't be completely sure that he didn't hear the nurse, but I am fairly certain he didn't.

[nursel56]

I am a nursing instructor. If one of my students reported an incident of emotional abuse of a patient to me, I would report this to the manager or liaison for student relations. In fact, I have already done so in a similar incident. It turns out that nurse was previously suspected of other incidents, but the student's statement was enough to get the nurse fired for her actions. I am not sure why it is being suggested that an educator is less likely to uphold the ethical standards of the profession than any other nurse would be. Of course clinical placements are crucial, but I would never jeopardize a patient simply to protect a clinical slot. If the facility tolerates abuse of patients, I don't want my students learning anything from them anyway.

All of the nursing instructors who post here are gems, and I wish you could clone yourselves. I say that not to be what used to be called an "apple polisher" and now would likely be called a "k*ss-*ss", but Sharon is commenting on something that I really, really hope isn't a general trend -- that being both managers and instructors who seem to cater to the delicate sensibilities of management types and won't go to bat for their students/staff as they used to do. I really have no idea why this aversion to anything that could be called "rocking the boat" is occurring. Is it because it's harder to get good facilities to accept students? Are staff at these places fussier than they used to be?

I don't know if you've read the thread about a student who "talked the patient through" a thoracentesis, which apparently miffed the provider enough to report her - what was obviously a communication problem, with the student doing what she felt was advocating for her patient. Her instructor chastised her as "disrespecting" and put her placement in the program in jeopardy. That's one example but there are many others similar and they do differ from the common "my instructor is a witch" and "my instructor hates me" posts we see here.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

Op- did you talk to your clinical instructor about this yet? What did she/he have to say?