Why are some nurses not grateful for my job?

[leogirl8]

I work as a patient safety attendant (patient sitter) per diem and every other weekend. I sit with fall risk patients, patients who are suicidal, confused, tend to take off their IVs/nasal cannula, who need my assistance walking to the bathroom, etc. I thought it was a good idea to get my foot in the door since I am a nursing student. I need to wait a couple of months until I can work as a nursing assistant. I also graduated with a BS in biology and work other days in a bio lab.

I was sitting with an older male today and I heard yesterday he was very agitated and almost hit/punched the nurse and the nursing assistant. Today, he was totally relaxed. He slept most of the time and I helped him in small ways. The patient's room is right in front of the nurse's station and he was in bed 1 so I can hear some of the conversations. The patient's nurse came in to give the patient the medication about 30 minutes before my shift ended. I hear another nurse ask him, "do you really need a sitter?" she asked him in a really sarcastic way. the patient's nurse went to the door and shrugged and said, seriously, no. The unit clerk laughed sarcastically and said, what's the point of having a sitter? Then the nurse who was outside says it's useless to have a sitter. They bickered and laughed while I'm listening to the whole thing.

I grew extremely angry. I understand that the patient today was very calm, but I was there to help their patients out. I was not there to just relax. I didn't have the tv on, I'm not allowed to read or look at my phone so I paid close attention to the patient especially since he was in a respiratory floor. why say they need sitters and say we are useless, but when they need us, they call us up. I just felt very hurt..

[Altra, BSN, RN]

I have to tell you OP, when you throw around the "the nurse didn't do anything" phrase ... it's not going to be received well. This, coming from a student, sounds little different than the comments from layperson families who don't understand clinical priorities. This phrase gets used, often, when a nurse does not immediately stop all other tasks and put his/her hands on the patient. As a nursing student, consider that "doing something" can include eyeballing the patient, making several mental notes to do xyz, call the doc, etc. And I agree with the previous poster -- that speech therapist who evaluated the patient didn't materialize out of nowhere. Have you considered that the nurse put in the consult to have the patient evaluated? Is that not "doing something"? Not everything is a stop-what-you're-doing kind of priority -- if it was, little would be accomplished other than running around like the proverbial chicken sans head. And if your patient was coughing, but maintaining his baseline SpO2 and continuing to have good color and unchanged activity tolerance ... he may very well have appropriately been a lower priority than the other patient (who appears to have been assigned to the patient team of the same nurse you're speaking about) who required rapid response intervention. Did you consider that?

Also, I don't know what kind of unit you're working on, OP, but in an ER setting, sitters are a mixed bag because if a patient is ordered a sitter, it's going to be that much more difficult to get them an assigned bed on an inpatient unit. So what you perceive as "not being appreciated" could just be resignation that it's going to be difficult to move that patient.

[blueheaven]

I think my previous post sounded a little harsh, but I also wanted to give the flip side of possible reasons for the attitude. Not justifying it by ANY means, just possible reasons.

I can't tell you how many times I heard floor nurses gripe about students. They sure wanted us when we worked as PCAs! I did learn much of what I didn't want to be when I worked as a PCA. I love and appreciate those in supportive roles that help make my job easier and safer!

[leogirl8]

I got to sit for that same patient and I heard the rapid response team had to come for him. what happened to that nurse? he got fired..

they didn't tell me why..

[HeartsOpenWide, RN]

They should be grateful for you. At a hospital my friend works at they take aids to be sitters and leave the nurses short handed

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

I am a sitter, and I think you need to find a new place to work. The nurses and PCAs are always polite to me and ask me if I need anything or need a break from watching the same patient for several hours!

There are nurses out there that are VERY grateful of us. I'm sorry you haven't had good experiences with them.

[OCNRN63, RN]

I got to sit for that same patient and I heard the rapid response team had to come for him. what happened to that nurse? he got fired..

they didn't tell me why..

It's none of your business why he was fired. More than likely, it had little/nothing to do with the situation you described.

[kelll]

I think my previous post sounded a little harsh, but I also wanted to give the flip side of possible reasons for the attitude. Not justifying it by ANY means, just possible reasons.

I can't tell you how many times I heard floor nurses gripe about students. They sure wanted us when we worked as PCAs! I did learn much of what I didn't want to be when I worked as a PCA. I love and appreciate those in supportive roles that help make my job easier and safer!

Well just saying you will not understand nursing and priority until you have to do it. I have said many times before, nurses know what its like to be students but students do not understand what it is to work as a nurse. So when you have been a nurse for a while post agian and let me know how you feel about it. When your lifeline and liscense is on the line and prioritizing is of utmost importance and maybe life or death and people are complaining about little things being petty....I DO UNDERSTAND. I DO CARE. but students are not my patients....love students hate anything getting in the way and causing drama during emergency.....not ignoring you...being a good nurse and taking care of patient.