Hi, my name is AngelfireRN, I'll be your nurse tonight.
I am not a waitress, nor am I your slave.
Yelling and hurling obscenities at me will not get you your pain meds any sooner than they are ordered. Nor will having your family member or entourage do the same.
Threatening lawsuits and having umpteen family members camp out in the halls or hold up the nurse's station will not get you preferential treatment.
Physically grabbing me as I go down the hall is NOT a good idea.
I do not give the orders, but I do have to follow/enforce them. This is something that you should take up with your doctor.
No, I will not call him again to ask him for more pain medicine. He has been called twice and has said no both times.
No, I will not give you his number so you can "straighten him out".
No, you are not my only patient, and I highly doubt that you are single-handedly paying my salary. On the off chance that you are, let's talk about a raise.
NO, NO, NO, I most empahatically will NOT come get you when it is time for your next pain shot while you are having a smoke break. I also will not bring it to you in the smoking room. (Have actually said that, I am allergic to cigarettes. I did it once, had an asthma attack, desatted to 83, and turned blue, according to the patient and my charge nurse, after the patient had to help me back to the floor).
No, I don't really care if your family has not eaten all day, they drove here by themselves, they are not sick, and no, I will not call for 6 guest trays. (This of course, is if the patient in question does not need all 6 family members present, and is not at death's door).
No, you may not have 3 six-packs of soda from the kitchen, there are other people that would like a snack, too.
No, they will not open up the kitchen up just for you, at 1 in the morning, because you don't like the snacks we have on the floor.
I could think of hundreds, but those will do for a start. I know it sounds mean, but this is why I got out of bedside nursing. When a hospital becomes the Hilton, I'm gone!
Perhaps I'm mistaken, but your reply sounds somewhat sarcastic? Just like everyone else in the service business, nurses should be allowed to vent sometimes, and that's what this forum is for. I'm not really sure what your meaning is exactly...??
perhaps i'm mistaken, but your reply sounds somewhat sarcastic? just like everyone else in the service business, nurses should be allowed to vent sometimes, and that's what this forum is for. i'm not really sure what your meaning is exactly...??
it's more naive, and the idealistic uninformed, never been deep in the trenches kind of remark that only a wide-eyed prenursing student or a nursing student not too far into her schooling would make. slightly sarcastic, yes.
it's more naive, and the idealistic uninformed, never been deep in the trenches kind of remark that only a wide-eyed prenursing student or a nursing student not too far into her schooling would make. slightly sarcastic, yes.
i agree with both of you. i am naive and clueless and the only points of comparison i have is from a patient's view and the view from a former cna who attended monthly "eye opening" meetings with administration about empathizing with our geriatric residents. one day i will look back to this post and see how truly uninformed i was. i will get the reality check one day, but for now, i am just a dice hanging on your rearview mirror.
I also think that you have to find some humour in your experiences with patients, and nursing in general sometimes. Otherwise we would all be insane :) I was a guest services manager for years, and retail management before that. The same comparisons can be made there too. We all do stupid, silly, annoying things. That's life. And I probably will be one of those tired, annoying, patients myself. Who knows? That doesn't mean we don't care about our patients. I am fortunate every day for the small things in life, that's for sure.
I also think that you have to find some humour in your experiences with patients, and nursing in general sometimes. Otherwise we would all be insane :) I was a guest services manager for years, and retail management before that. The same comparisons can be made there too. We all do stupid, silly, annoying things. That's life. And I probably will be one of those tired, annoying, patients myself. Who knows? That doesn't mean we don't care about our patients. I am fortunate every day for the small things in life, that's for sure.
You are exactly right Joanna. I am reading and posting to learn and help as much as I can with what little I know. I have been in the accounting field for too long and reading posts such as these are very informative. Believe it or not, I will go back to these threads in the future to help me feel normal and maybe get some laughs too. Thanks.
I hope that in my old age, I will NEVER do anything stupid to offend my nurses. After all, I guarantee that those nurses and the ones they love won't ever get old, tired, scared and senile.
Maybe I am saying this because I am not a nurse yet. I might learn otherwise once I become one. Please help me understand as I can either be a patient or a nurse, and I want to act appropriately.
I agree that all patients should be treated with respect and consideration. On the other hand, it would be pretty hard not to be amused (I don't know many nurses who are offended by nakedness!) at being asked to grab a fork and help scratch an itchy patient.
i agree that all patients should be treated with respect and consideration. on the other hand, it would be pretty hard not to be amused (i don't know many nurses who are offended by nakedness!) at being asked to grab a fork and help scratch an itchy patient.
and sometimes we laugh simply because if we didn't laugh we'd cry.
It was amusing, the fork incident. I remember thinking to myself, "Somehow, this goes beyond the concept of "pt centred care". That got to be a routine request, after a while, with his nurses. We had the Geriatric Team come to assess the pt a few times over his stay.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i agree with both of you. i am naive and clueless and the only points of comparison i have is from a patient's view and the view from a former cna who attended monthly "eye opening" meetings with administration about empathizing with our geriatric residents. one day i will look back to this post and see how truly uninformed i was. i will get the reality check one day, but for now, i am just a dice hanging on your rearview mirror.
i don't understand your reason for posting either of your remarks. if you get that you don't get it, why jump in and look stupid and clueless?
Specializes in neuro, m/s, renal, ortho, home health.
I agree with both of you. I am naive and clueless and the only points of comparison I have is from a patient's view and the view from a former CNA who attended monthly "eye opening" meetings with administration about empathizing with our geriatric residents. One day I will look back to this post and see how truly uninformed I was. I will get the reality check one day, but for now, I am just a dice hanging on your rearview mirror.
I think one day we can all look back and gain knowledge. Empathy is a good nursing quality!
joanna73, BSN, RN
4,767 Posts
Perhaps I'm mistaken, but your reply sounds somewhat sarcastic? Just like everyone else in the service business, nurses should be allowed to vent sometimes, and that's what this forum is for. I'm not really sure what your meaning is exactly...??