thug got shot and crying

[C-DIFF PHIL RN]

was workin one of my part time er gigs at a local hospital today. well there was alittle shoot out in the local hood. bunch of shots fired but only one fella got hit. ems brings in this cat 28yo with two gun shot wounds one to lt upper abd and rt bicep with now exit wounds. to be honest it was sort of tense for the first 30-45min. guy was hypotn and squirtin blood out the arm wound pretty good. what i saw while we were cuttin clothes off him was the usual thug like tats and items. now this guy was known to a few er techs of being a local bad ass sort of a bully. well i think he lost his rep cuase this cat was screamin and cryin like a baby the whole time...he was literally yellin for his mama and begin us to save his life. i was told this was the same fella that spent 4 yrs in state pen for armed theft and assualt and rumored murders..now he was lying supine in truama room #2 crying, begin for his mamma. if it wasnt for hippa i would have videoed his thug ass and posted it on youtube for the world to see what a tough fella this cat was....now before all you bleedin heart nurses get on here and blast me for pokin fun at a patient who was in pain let me defend my actions by saying it was funny crap and i'll do it again when a meat head wannabe gangsta comes kickin and screamin after being shot, cut or beatdown into the er pleadin for his momma...now thats funny:lol2: i dont care who you are... post note, cat went to surgey speenectomy, arterial graph to arm, off the vent restin nicely in the unit on morphine pca, best part is im paying the ******* bill!!!!!!

[sunny d]

You should read the book "Gang Leader for a Day". It might give you more insight and compassion for people like this guy.

[GilaRRT]

wow...it sounds like your making fun of your patient! arent nurses supposed to be non-judgemental, at least thats what they keep stressing to us in our nursing program! regardless of his lifestyle, homeless, hiv, drug addict or gangsta, we are all human...*** is soo funny about a HUMAN BEING crying for his loved ones!! hope you NEVER take care of me and my family!!

Everybody passes judgment, everybody. You have a myopic and unrealistic world view if you really think we do not make judgments about people. In fact, I think you just made a judgment on a person who very well may have just been decompressing after a bad experience. We are free to think whatever so long as our actions are compassionate and we provide good care.

As I somewhat suggested in my first post, once you cross the line and start getting your jollies off of people in distress, you are no longer an effective caregiver. I do not know if that is the case with the OP, however. I agree that this thread could be somewhat distasteful; however, I am not going to condemn the OP as a poor provider who has lost connection with humanity. The reality being, we all think horrible thoughts and sometimes say things we regret in stressful situations.

Case in point: While overseas, I responded to a call where several aid workers were ambushed and executed. The scene has pretty horrific and I was actually somewhat shocked by the initial carnage I saw. At some point, I made a comment on the lines of stupid, granola, liberal, tree huggers, keep coming to these countries and getting themselves killed to save the world, causing us to clean up the mess. One of my colleagues responded by simply saying, "yeah, but this world needs people like that, lots of people like that." That simple statement brought much needed clarity and humanity back to my way of thinking. Did I really mean what I said, no; however, I think I was just trying to decompress. This stuff does wear on a person and sometimes we resort to dark humor in an effort to decompress. Something akin to Jimmy Buffet saying, "if we could not laugh we would all go insane." However, when your actions begin to emulate dark thoughts, a line has been crossed IMHO.

[FlyingScot, RN]

I seriously doubt that there is a nurse here with any time under their belt that has not at one time harbored a negative thought about one of their patients including thinking "they got what they deserved", "I hope it hurts, maybe they'll learn their lesson", "You did this to yourself so shut up" and many others along that line. Just because we are nurses doesn't mean we are saints. A number of years ago we had a drunk driver come to our ER. He had just plowed into a minivan with a family of four critically injuring the children and leaving them orphans. His only injury was a scalp laceration. He presented screaming that he was dying and the pain was so bad he couldn't stand it. When we didn't meet his needs immediately (due to sicker patients requiring attention) he screamed that we didn't understand he had just been in a traaaaaauuuummmmaa! You can bet every one of us wished the PA stitching his wound would use a dull, rusty needle and clean the area with spit.You can bet that we weren't overly friendly to him. You can bet his discharge instructions were given to him without a smile or overt sense of concern. And you can definitely bet that when he left in handcuffs we all hoped he'd get the chair. What he did get was professional treatment by every member of the staff, careful cleaning of the wound, pain control, and 45 minutes of careful suturing to minimize scarring to his scalp and forehead. He didn't get the chair and I'm betting that selfish bastard probably only thinks of that day in the context of how it has affected him. If the worst thing the OP does is verbalize those black feelings EVERYONE of us has then he's guilty of only one thing...being human.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

All of us are human. And...I do think working inner city knife and gun club does jade you. What I found personally was that yes, I was like the OP at that point in my career too. However, as I've gotten older and older and maybe just a little bit wiser, I learned that my judgement of my pts is counterproductive to what is right for me.

I can't waste time thinking this guy deserved it or he is a crybaby because it takes away from the positive feelings that I need.

[CharlieT]

I try to treat all of my patients with dignity and compassion. I try to treat them as I would like to be treated. Its not my place to judge someone else's choices in life, I mean, gee whiz, I have made enough mistakes for two lifetimes. When a patient comes in with an attitude or just does something to tick me off though, I sometimes, suddenly, remember that I have not started a large bore IV in a long time and could use the practice. Its sort of funny how things work out that way. I need to stay in practice on those #14G starts, right? Plenty of big strong burley guys have cried for mama just before death on the battlefield. It does not make them any less of a hero, and it does not make a thug any less of a thug.

[mesa1979, BSN, RN]

I would hate to have you work on any of my family! You seem to think it's ok to feel this way b/c of this guy's lifestyle, but in reality, as a nurse your personal perceptions should not play a part in saving someone's life. You seem very biased!

[Flatbelly]

as a nurse your personal perceptions should not play a part in saving someone's life.

WHERE did the OP state he/she refused care/saving life???

[RedCell]

I would hate to have you work on any of my family! You seem to think it's ok to feel this way b/c of this guy's lifestyle, but in reality, as a nurse your personal perceptions should not play a part in saving someone's life. You seem very biased!

Hate is a pretty strong choice of words dude. That is more appalling to me than anything Phil mentioned. Besides, there is nothing in his post that suggests his personal perceptions played any part in saving this loser's life. I'll bet Phil gave this waste of a human the best care that our TAXPAYER DOLLARS can provide. Hell, he might even say hello to Phil the next time he comes into the ER all shot up. Or maybe, (in a more likely scenario) he will end up suing Phil and his institution for damaging one of his pretty tattoos from an IV stick or surgical incision.

[ThrowEdNurse, BSN, RN]

OMG!!!!! If you are a student, pt, or family member, just do us all a favor and lay off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so sick and tired of people who have no right to even form an opinion on the way we think but to have balls up enough to not only judge our thoughs, but to also be ignorant enough to post your unwarranted, uneducated, unwanted, uninvited opinion. I mean, are you serious???? You people can't be serious!!! You can't come to a website dedicated to a profession that you do not actively participate in and pass judgement on people who dedicate their days and nights to saving lives and fighting deadly diseases and dealing with the most heinous people to ever walk the earth. We are physically, verbally, and rarely even sexually assaulted by our pts. We then go in the next room and hold and console a complete stranger who is grieving over the body of their mother and then verbally de-escalate the psych pt so he doesn't have to go back in restraints and then go calm the hysterical new mom. YOU JUDGEMENTAL PEOPLE COULDN'T HANG, so lay off! Go to the Disney Web site and judge Mickey Mouse for the way he eats cheese and LEAVE US ALONE!!! We only want to hear from people with at least a quarter of our experience. If you don't have it, just be quiet. Let the OP vent in his way today so he can go to work tomorrow and save your unappreciative life.

[GilaRRT]

OMG!!!!! If you are a student, pt, or family member, just do us all a favor and lay off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so sick and tired of people who have no right to even form an opinion on the way we think but to have balls up enough to not only judge our thoughs, but to also be ignorant enough to post your unwarranted, uneducated, unwanted, uninvited opinion. I mean, are you serious???? You people can't be serious!!! You can't come to a website dedicated to a profession that you do not actively participate in and pass judgement on people who dedicate their days and nights to saving lives and fighting deadly diseases and dealing with the most heinous people to ever walk the earth. We are physically, verbally, and rarely even sexually assaulted by our pts. We then go in the next room and hold and console a complete stranger who is grieving over the body of their mother and then verbally de-escalate the psych pt so he doesn't have to go back in restraints and then go calm the hysterical new mom. YOU JUDGEMENTAL PEOPLE COULDN'T HANG, so lay off! Go to the Disney Web site and judge Mickey Mouse for the way he eats cheese and LEAVE US ALONE!!! We only want to hear from people with at least a quarter of our experience. If you don't have it, just be quiet. Let the OP vent in his way today so he can go to work tomorrow and save your unappreciative life.

However, are you not being judgmental? Again, it goes back to crossing "the line" between thoughts and actions in my judgmental humble opinion.

[inkedRN]

I haven't been a RN long enough (especially an ED RN) to judge you on your thoughts and opinions of your patient but I have been on message boards long enough to judge you on your lack of typing skills. Holy eye gouger Batman.

[ThrowEdNurse, BSN, RN]

Dear GilaRN,

No, I am not being judgemental. I am being protective and defensive. Why do you care if I am being judgemental against people attacking ER staff? I also never noted where the OP stated that he acted in any inappropriate manner. An inappropriate action like attacking someone on a web site? Is that what you mean?