What you wish they knew....

Zookeeper3 · Sep 21, 2007

That you can't be non compliant, expect me to just fix you up each time and have no permanent complications from your lack of....

yep, you're 25 and on hemodialysis because you didn't take your BP meds,

yep, you're 31 with jouvinile diabetees and now have blindess, neuropathy and a hair away from dialysis.

yep, that coke you've been smoking caused a HUGE anterior, inferior, posterior infarct.. your EF is now 15% and NO ONE will transplant you at 21. and YES you DO need to keep that leg straight with the balloon pump which is keeping you alive now, I know it's irritating!

and last, yep, that suicide attempt for attention or what it ever was at the time with two bottles of tylenol DID kill your LIVER, did put you in DIC, DID throw clots causing you to loose fingers and toes and now be placed on a transplant list, yep, you lost the baby too and we had to take out your uterus to save you from bleeding to death at 17.

Wait, one last one, last holiday season, when you tried to commit suicide and drove to a friends house, pounded on the door for help then fell asleep as the pills were supposed to make you do, did work. Your friends weren't home and you DID it, you succeeded. The people you left behind will never be the same.

Sorry downers, but I thought why the heck not, let me put the doosies in. Because THESE doosies I really wish people knew before it was too late.

Sorry, too deep too early, I'm still up and it was a depressing one. someone lighten it up after me pleze!

fgoff · Sep 21, 2007

There is no way I can top Zookeeper, so I'll keep it simple.

No I will not lift you out of the bed/chair if you can stand on your own feet and assist in the transfer. Nurse are to do for you what you can't do for yourself. PERIOD!

galenight, BSN, RN · Sep 21, 2007

oh my.. where to start

I wish they knew...

That they are not the only patient I have at the moment and more than likely, they are not the most critical.

That I am doing the best I can within the limits of... my profession, my abilities, my resources, and my physician.

That they are responsible for their own actions and/or inactions. I am not here to coddle you. I am here to get you out of your crisis du jour.. that's it.

If you don't want XYZ treatment or medication, you don't have to have it. I could care less. It's your body and your right to refuse. I'll let you know that. You will have to sign a refusal of care form, because if you are a big enough boy or girl to make that decision, you are big enough to take resposibility for it and sign a waiver.

I also wish patients knew and truly, truly understood that medicine is as much art as it is science. We cannot cure everything. We can't make all pain go away. We cannot save everybody every time. We want to. We try our hardest, but we just can't.

I wish patients knew that often with chronic pain or severe injuries, one has to learn to live with a certain amount of pain. It may not be pleasant, it may be hard, but it beats being addicted and doped up without quailty of life.

I wish they knew that you SHOULDN'T always try to save everybody. Your 99yr old, comatose, demented, diabetic, great gradma with CHF, on dialysis, s/p CVA with paralysis does not have any quality of life. Let her go.

I wish they knew that medical resources, particularly the emergency room, should be used prudently. Health care, whether or not you pay out of pocket is not "free".

I wish they knew that I want to get them that warm blanket, that hot meal, that cool drink and that current magazine for their comfort. I don't mean to forget it -- more pressing things come along.. I usually get it sooner or later.

I wish they knew that it isn't the hilton and that those things are not what makes us good or bad. Quality nursing and medical care is.

I wish they knew that I am a good nurse. I work hard FOR THEM. Yeah, I get paid a fair wage, but that's not the only reason I do what I do. I do it because I want to help people.

I wish they knew how hard they sometimes make it to continue to want to help them.

fgoff · Sep 21, 2007

"I wish they knew that I am a good nurse. I work hard FOR THEM. Yeah, I get paid a fair wage, but that's not the only reason I do what I do. I do it because I want to help people." -galenight

That TOO!

myrlpie · Sep 21, 2007

You are not hurting me if you don't take your medicine. I do not get paid by the pill.

agent66 · Sep 21, 2007

That having a bypass when your're 85 and don't do much activity to get angina anyway is not worth it. Is it not easier to spray before going to Bingo than having chest tubes, a foley, a huge incision, and likely a week on the vent, and then possibly c-diff or mrsa? Just say NO!!

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Sep 21, 2007

It's a hospital, not a hotel. I am a nurse, not the servent.

lmc512 · Sep 21, 2007

I wish the pts would realize that when they have a good 300 pounds on you then no, it is neither safe nor possible to lift you out of bed and carry you to the bathroom because you have pain from your c-section.

I wish you would realize there is no button on your baby that I can push to make it breastfeed correctly or to stop crying.

I wish that if you have a minor issue such as you feel Percocet makes you sleepy (not the fact that you had a baby and haven't slept for 3 days and were in labor for 24 hours), it is not necessary to call your doctor in the middle of the night to change meds when they will be in at 0600....IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SLEEPY!

Regardless of that fact that your baby will cry for approx. 15 seconds when i prick their heel to draw a bilirubin, yes it is extremely important to do, if i don't know your baby's bili is 30 then i can't help you. brain damage may be the alternative... (extreme I know, but come on parents!)

I wish parents knew how to use their car seat...or at least took it out of the box prior to coming to the hospital...and don't think I am dumb enough to believe that "it all happened so suddenly" You are here for 41+ wks scheduled induction!!! Believe it or not I do not know how to install every car seat on the market into every type of car being sold in the US today!

santhony44, MSN, RN, NP · Sep 21, 2007

I wish patients knew what meds they take, at what dose, and the name of the prescriber. "That little white pill" doesn't help much.

Which specialists they see and when they were seen last.

I wish they knew that an antibiotic and/or a steroid shot won't cure everything. That antibiotics are not appropriate for viral infections. And that the antibiotic you get today is probably not going to make all your symptoms go away by tomorrow.

That it is your body, your illness, and your responsibility. You haven't taken your BP med for a month and it's all the pharmacy's fault; "If something happens to me it will be their fault." Don't be shocked if I look you in the eye and say, "look, if you die, you are dead; not the pharmacist! Take ownership of your issues and make sure you're getting what you need."

That includes knowing how many pills are left in your bottle. If you can't count above one and don't realize until 15 minutes before closing time on Friday that you will be out of pills all weekend, well, you just may not get your meds. Think about your refills when you have, oh, 4 or 5 pills left in the bottle.

I wish patients knew exactly what they are allergic to; "some antibiotic" really doesn't help me much. I wish they knew what an allergic reaction really was; stomach pain with codiene or sleepiness with benadryl do not count as allergic reactions.

I wish parents knew how to get their children to behave in a somewhat civilized fashion in the clinic. I like kids; I don't like little savages shredding the magazines, climbing on the counters, playing in the biohazardous waste containers, kicking the exam tables, playing bumper car with the rolling stool, playing with the water, stopping up the toilet, or poking me on the arm when I'm trying to examine their siblings. I am not going to try to talk with you over your child's squeaking her sneakers on the floor, over and over and over, on purpose, for the fun of it. If you won't exert some authority over your child and correct his or her behavior, I will. If my own 6-foot-plus, 200-lb-plus sons don't intimidate me, your 2-year-old won't, either.

Just a few of mine!

bagladyrn, RN · Sep 21, 2007

For the women in labor - No, yoiur doctor is not coming in now (at 1 a.m) just because you are admitted in early labor. He or she will be in (hopefully) just in time to catch the baby. If your doctor comes in to see you before that time (unless he's making morning rounds) it's NOT a good thing! (Usually a sign that something is wrong and the nurse has insisted that he come in).

Jo Dirt · Sep 21, 2007

It's a hospital, not a hotel. I am a nurse, not the servent.

You know what they call patients at the hospitals around here now?

Customers.

Customers!

One thing I'd like to add that has been said but I just want to emphasize it is that life is not worth living at any cost (80 something year old/bedridden/incontinent/demented/feeding tubes, etc.) and also, families need to understand that dying is a part of the cycle of life and we become old because that is our body's way of preparing for this event and some peoples' bodies wear out at 60 while others finally wear out at 90 and especially with the really old folks don't be shocked when they just go to sleep and don't wake up!

Oh, also, people always assume there is a "pill" that can help them. Not true!

And another thing, people assume because they "eat right and exercise" this ensures longevity. Not true! Poor health/good health is no indication of how long someone can expect to live!