Ugly, Ugly People.....

[tencat]

Wow. I just had the experience from hades. I can't go into too much detail, but basically I got into it with a former patient and patient's family, at the request of my boss who thought we should try again to have patient on service after paranoid patient had declined any help from us six months ago and we had to discharge due to patient not letting any team members get into the house. I flat out told my boss it was a bad, bad idea to send me in due to the history I had with that patient, but the boss would not take no for an answer. Of course, they were not overjoyed to see me, I was less than thrilled to see them, and things went from bad to worse. Family was being ugly and insinuating that I did not know what I was talking about, and I got mad. I don't do well with people who think they are better than everyone else....things went from bad to worse, and I ended up in a situation where I'm so dang angry my stomach hurts and I'm shaking. I guess I'm venting, but I'm also wondering....how on earth do I as an employee in this crappola economy tell my dense boss NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT! When I know it is a bad, bad, BAD idea?????

[leslie :-D]

why did this pt agree to hospice services?

leslie

[tencat]

I don't think patient did agree....was pushed into it by kids. Patient has a brain tumor, and up until today I was chalking up the patient's behavior to that....until I met the kids who act exactly the same and don't have tumors.........

[jerseyRN]

Get your social worker or chaplain to stand fast with you to make it clear to the boss you're not the right nurse for this case. Suggest to boss she make a home visit to "help clear the air" ... sounds like it's been awhile since she crawled out from behind the desk.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

I dislike bosses like this....they should be smart and listne to their nurses....my trump card in thses situations is either tell them I feel my safety will be threatened OR I insist 2 nurses do the visit

[tencat]

Thanks to all for your replies. Sigh.....just bummed about the whole thing and really angry with my boss who was totally aware of what a bad situation it was and is, but threw me to the wolves anyway. I know not everyone is going to like me, and that's fine, but we are a small company, and the patient and I don't have the luxury of totally avoiding each other, if the patient were actually to come back on service, as we all take turns with on-call. Though if this particular person came back and needed on-call nursing when I'm on call I'd be calling 911 for them.....I am NOT going back into that house for any more abuse.....this same patient physically threatened me back in October and was so paranoid that eventually no one was allowed in...social work, chaplain, nurses, and we had to discharge due to not being able to provide any services (I wasn't the only one kicked out, just the only one patient took a 'violent' dislike to...). Patient lives alone and for some reason the kids don't want to have to deal with taking care of the patient (not that I blame them, though they are just as disagreeable and obnoxious as patient is) and they don't see why patient can't live alone now. Patient needs hospice, but in a nursing home setting or in a setting where patient lives with someone else. It's not safe for patient to live alone. Well, now the kids will be forced to do something as hospice in this town is no longer an option. We are the only one here. I doubt the other nurse that had to deal with the patient before would want to deal with patient again, either. Social worker had already said she would not deal with this patient again. Ugh. I just feel so badly because it is such a sad, awful thing to be facing death like that, and inadvertently I've added to the stress by coming back into a situation that I knew would be ugly and add stress to the patient. I just feel like I was caught in the middle and had no options. Well, if anything like this ever happens again, I'll be sure to say NO loud and clear, and bring up this particular situation as back-up. I guess even in a bad economy it's not worth being involved in a situation like this again.