Terrible experience with nursing staff

Nurses General Nursing

Updated:   Published

I'm going through a really rough time and I'm not sure this is the best place to put this post but I guess I need someone to hear me.

I moved to Brazil in 2019 and, short story, I had an urgent hysterectomy (open abdominal) 2 days ago. The nursing staff at the hospital here were extremely indifferent toward me. I was very frightened before the surgery and was crying, nobody held my hand or told me it would be okay. They only talked to me to tell me to move this way, put my arm here, etc. 1 day postop I tried to ambulate to the bathroom (no one would help me) and fainted, hitting my face on the bathroom floor (currently have a black eye and bruised cheekbone). I woke up and yelled "help, help!" about 10-15 times before anyone came, finally it was my boyfriend who woke up and came to help me. The nurses stood there sucking their teeth and saying they can't believe I did this as he helped me back to bed. No one examined me afterwards, looked at my face, or even asked if I had symptoms.

The doctor came shortly after that and said I could go home, and you could believe I got out of there as fast as I could. The doctor only sent me home with ketoprofen. For an open abdominal surgery. I am currently using old prescriptions of zofran and hydrocodone I brought with me from the states.

My feelings are so hurt at being treated like this. I would never in my life let a patient fall. I would never let a patient sit in bed and cry. I have always made sure to tell my patients to call me if they feel anxious, upset, or need to talk. I hold my patients' hands and say I am here for you.

I feel like these nurses hated me. My boyfriend, who is Brazilian, says this is normal here. He says it is his fault for letting me fall because the family is supposed to do all the patient care, the nurses are just there to give medication. I am beyond offended at this idea, that nurses are just pill pushers. I am having a lot of second thoughts about living in a place where anyone would act like this, to me it's just common decency.

I was discharged to home yesterday and honestly terrified of having complications and having to go back to the hospital. I also feel like I need to find out what the governing body is for hospitals here and file a complaint against these people.

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
23 minutes ago, Pepper The Cat said:

So he had to pay for his TV. Big deal. How much did he pay for the rest of his care?? And I would rather the hospital spend its money on staff and supplies than making a waiting room pretty. Pretty waiting rooms are nice, don’t get me wrong, but not high on the priority list.

I'm not arguing in favour of one system over another. My whole point was the niceties that people take for granted will be gone. All the nice stuff that our insurance companies pay for (that's why premiums are so high) will no longer exist, because the government will not pay for them.

Here's another part I forgot: I was told by one of his nurses that my father did not meet criteria to be sent to the burn centre, the nearest of which was 300 miles away. Months later when I attended an inservice at work (in the US) the presenter spoke of burns. He provided criteria for admission to a burn centre and according to his information, my dad met every single criterion. I firmly believe the difference in funding affected the criteria being used. I try not to think that if he'd had access to the burn centre he might have survived.

The original point I was making about single payer health care is that it will change how things are done. And people who expect to have their hands held, expect staff to function as servants, who provide bad reviews because their coffee wasn't hot enough will be in for a very rude awakening.

4 Votes
On 2/19/2020 at 6:28 PM, Pepper The Cat said:

So he had to pay for his TV. Big deal. How much did he pay for the rest of his care?? And I would rather the hospital spend its money on staff and supplies than making a waiting room pretty. Pretty waiting rooms are nice, don’t get me wrong, but not high on the priority list.

This times a hundred. A local hospital remodeled and has a waterfall in the lobby. That's where I want my healthcare-insurance payments going.

4 Votes

You had a successful urgent operation/surgery. The least you can do is be thankful, but you choose to dwell in the abyss of negativity and self-imagined despair. In some cultures, holding hands could be considered intrusive. You can fill the survey forms about your experiences and drop it in the complaint box at the hospital, or just give it to the secretary.

3 Votes
Specializes in Dialysis.
14 minutes ago, cynical-RN said:

You had a successful urgent operation/surgery. The least you can do is be thankful, but you choose to dwell in the abyss of negativity and self-imagined despair. In some cultures, holding hands could be considered intrusive. You can fill the survey forms about your experiences and drop it in the complaint box at the hospital, or just give it to the secretary.

If the healthcare system in Brazil is like most other countries outside of the US, there is no survey forms. From what little I've seen worldwide, this is an American thing

5 Votes
5 minutes ago, Hoosier_RN said:

If the healthcare system in Brazil is like most other countries outside of the US, there is no survey forms. From what little I've seen worldwide, this is an American thing

This might be controversial but I believe that survey forms, like the HCAHPS, played a part in bedside nursing being a not-so-attractive field to remain in the long run.

When I was a child (living in the states), it was unheard of for nurses to be treated like maids. It was taboo to treat a nurse poorly; the town will hear about it, and your rep will be trashed. Nowadays (in the same part of the states), bedside nurses being treated like maids is a normal occurrence around here.

5 Votes

@Hoosier_RN Lucky us. ?

2 Votes
Specializes in Dialysis.
44 minutes ago, Wuzzie said:

@Hoosier_RN Lucky us. ?

Makes me glad to be cruising toward retirement. But scared as hell of what my care will be like when I decline in my older years, especially if medicine is socialized

I say this as someone who sees many other Americans who take no responsibility for their health, but expect the full boat when they decide that they want/need care. Resources, especially $$$, have been squandered, and what little I do understand about socialized medicine is that resources are used as sparingly as possible, to benefit the greater good of the general population, instead of wasting valued resources

Someone like me who tries to eat healthy and workout 4-6 days a week, may not get care, as others before me have driven the resource pool down

4 Votes
On 2/18/2020 at 11:59 AM, Wuzzie said:

Why? Because they didn't hold her hand? Or because they didn't respond to her calls? If it's the latter considering her boyfriend was in the same room and didn't hear her maybe the staff didn't either. You can't sue them for having a different culture.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Call a couple of lawyers. She maybe CAN SUE for letting her get hurt. She should explore that.

1 Votes
Specializes in Critical Care.
21 minutes ago, Kooky Korky said:

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Call a couple of lawyers. She maybe CAN SUE for letting her get hurt. She should explore that.

I wouldn't describe that as a 'nothing-to-lose' situation since just the initial filing will cost a hefty amount, if she loses, which she will, it could end up costing many thousands of dollars.

5 Votes
Specializes in OB.
2 hours ago, TriciaJ said:

The original point I was making about single payer health care is that it will change how things are done. And people who expect to have their hands held, expect staff to function as servants, who provide bad reviews because their coffee wasn't hot enough will be in for a very rude awakening.

I completely agree with this; I do support drastically reforming our health care system in the U.S. but I know that single payer is by no means perfect. However, I doubt that the entitled jerks who expect all of the above, are generally people who support the idea of single payer. Just my guess.

7 Votes

So is OP coming back or nah?

4 Votes
Specializes in Dialysis.
13 minutes ago, NurseBlaq said:

So is OP coming back or nah?

Wondering that myself

2 Votes
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