Now here's a small concern that I have whenever I go to the hospital. I have found nurses to be rude to me.
I dont give it back because they're the one's who will be taking care of me and I want them to care for me.
I have a lot of respect for nurses, they are angels for the kind of compassionate work they do, but some experiences here and there create a long lasting memory. Only friendly people in hospital to me were the nuns and priests, during communion time.
Sometimes, I have even tried to avoid going to hospitals.
Is this because they want patients to be submissive and obedient ? I have never come across a friendly nurse till date.
Rude patients do exist, is this why they put the foot down first?
Btw, I am a colored(brown) person, so I wonder if this is a reason.
Once when I was admitted, there was a senior nurse who at first was rude. But then I told her that she was like my mother and I felt hurt that she was rude. I told her nicely and she was nice to me after that.
But, as a patient we go to hospitals emotionally and physically down, the last thing we would want is to get intimidated by the nurse.
What's the best way to tell a nurse that it hurts when they're rude without getting them angry.
Hmmmmm - another case where I think education of the public regarding triage is in order. Ankle pain would almost certainly get tagged code green. As in, bottom of the list of concerns, as in why are you in my ER? All that would be done in my ER would be check for perfusion and deformity, X-Ray, apply the RICE method, a couple of NSAID's, and instruct to follow up with an orthopod if there was a fracture. In other words, nothing that couldn't have been done at an orthopedic or urgent care clinic.
To clarify and help clear up some of the confusion about priority: it's not 1st come first serve. It's the truly sick and dying
In this day and age of entitlement the OP obviously thought he was entitled to be treated quickly and before all the people who were really sick or dying at this ER. In the ER I went to for my broken ankle I was asked if I wanted some pain meds while I waiting. I declined-as long as I stayed off the ankle the pain was okay.
A few observations from all the replies I received.
1)Many people tend to disagree with my post, all one has to do is Google to get a neutral view.
2)Sometimes look at it from the other mans shoes too, don't just dismiss it as silly or 'sympathy seeking'. Politeness is not equal to Sympathy seeking
3)All want to be spoken to with basic respect and politeness, I would never be impolite because I would get it back right away, be it anyone. Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want to be treated.
4)May be the ER staff was indeed busy that night, but a better choice of words was all that was needed, I went to him only twice. I am no cranky patient, I was very civil that day.
5)I never said all nurses were rude, all I said that all nurses I met were rude, that's why the title of the thread was 'some'
6)I have been very civil throughout this argument and have constantly ignored the many brash/belittling comments I have received.
I don't see anyone acknowledge my post and the negative responses are sure to keep coming. Hence it would be great if the thread is closed.
4)May be the ER staff was indeed busy that night, but a better choice of words was all that was needed, I went to him only twice. I am no cranky patient, I was very civil that day.
Which was two times too many. And for the record, the number of people in the waiting room has virtually NO correlation with what is going on in the back. If you waited 4 hours for treatment then it wasn't a matter of "maybe" they were busy I can guarantee you they were. With people who actually needed to be seen quickly. Also you might consider if the other 8-10 people who were waiting were also yammering at the nurse about their wait then it's pretty likely he was getting a constant stream of " when is it my turn" at varying levels of whiny. It's enough to make an absolute saint get a little cranky.
Sick, unwell and weak over a sprained ankle. A grown man. Needing compassion. From the nurse, who is is acting like his mother..
Grown men are the worst when it comes to pain. Good thing they don't give birth. There would be less children in the world.
Personally, the OP sounds like he went to the ER and whined every so often about the wait and how bad his poor little sprained ankle hurt. I can see why the nurses might have been rude. Especially when they have to deal with several other whiny entitled patients at the same time.
Heres is a list of people who have been rude to me at their job: cashiers, waitresses, tellers, insurance agents, baristas, cops, small business owners, store managers, bartenders, hair stylists, sales people, jewelers, photographers, receptionists, and even doctors and nurses.
Here is a list of people have been nice to me at their job: cashiers, waitresses, tellers, insurance agents, baristas, cops, small business owners, store managers, bartenders, hair stylists, sales people, jewelers, photographers, receptionists, and even doctors and nurses.
People are people - none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes.
I am sorry you have had some bad experiences with nurses, ER or not. I understand it is frustrating when you are in pain and you are probably scared and worried and you feel like someone isn't treating you right. Before I entered the healthcare field, I wasn't familiar with the ER either. After volunteering at a hospital, I realized what kind of situations come into the ER. And that is why the ER has such a long wait for situations that are considered a lower priority. I am not saying your situation isn't a priority, but your ankle pain isn't life or death, and often a lot of situations that come into the ER are life or death. If someone you loved was in critical condition and needed to be rushed to the ER, but couldn't been seen immediately because they were full with people who had sprained ankles, and your loved one died, how would you feel? How would you feel knowing there were people who had the skills to save their life, but were tied up with non-emergency care? The ER was designed for a reason and has a specific purpose.
Nurses have a difficult job, and although that isn't an excuse for anyone being rude, sometimes we (people) say things that some other people might take in an offensive way. It is possible that what you said the nurse took as rude. Even though you didn't mean it. Because we (people) are all different and react to everything differently. If you want to understand nurses better, how about volunteering at your local hospital to get a better idea of what day to day life is like for a nurse at work. I think it would give you a better appreciation.
Look at the thread, it says 'some'. Can you imagine being in pain with a sprained ankle and having to wait for 3-4 hours before being treated? The Male nurse told me that its common. He told me wait or leave, when I told him its taking too long.
Oh Lord, LOL. I waited over 5 hours in an ER where I live for a broken ankle that hurt so bad I couldn't stand on it. The pain from that was horrible. Yet I didn't be a crybaby and come to AllNurses to complain about the wait-that seems to be where your problem lies. It's not the "rude" nurses but having to wait 3-4 hours to be seen for a sprained ankle. I'd hate to see your attitude if you had gone to an ER that was REALLY busy when complaints such as yours wait SEVERAL hours to be seen. Please.
So I did google as the OP requested. Yep, there are a lot of "why are nurses rude?" hits. Here is one I found. This could go either way, depending on your POV.
An autistic adult with home health care. The nurse is trying to get hold of the patient to arrange for a visit. The patient herself states that the nurse called twice that day; I presume the second call was answered. The patient was already angry at the nurse, arranged to allow her to visit, and then went off on the RN.
This *is* an autistic adult, who, by definition, has trouble with social interactions. I get from the call that the RN is very familiar with the patient, and the pt probably often does not answer her phone for whatever reason. My take is that the nurse could have had a less condescending tone, but the patient's reaction is definitely not a proportional response.
What do you all think?
ETA: I saw a few more of those Youtube videos from the same person. This is a bad example because she is extremely anxious, and it sounds like she would find fault with Jesus himself due to her inability to cope.
TheGooch
775 Posts
In this day and age of entitlement the OP obviously thought he was entitled to be treated quickly and before all the people who were really sick or dying at this ER. In the ER I went to for my broken ankle I was asked if I wanted some pain meds while I waiting. I declined-as long as I stayed off the ankle the pain was okay.