Would you agree with this statement?

[MisterSimba, BSN]

I'm writing a paper for my sociology class, on an article titled, "The World of the Hospital" It is written by an author who did his field work in a hospital, observing nurses. In the article is a quote from a nurse: "You get to the point where you don't really care for the patients anymore and one GI (gastrointestinal) bleeder gets to be the same as the next GI bleeder."

I'm just curious about how you all feel about this statement, because I really have high regard for nurses and don't think the majority of nurses would agree with this statement. Any responses/comments would be greatly appreciated! :redpinkhe

[leslie :-D]

i certainly don't think it's a matter that we "don't care", but novelty wears off and sometimes, duties become more 'mechanical'.

this especially is pervasive amongst those who chronically work understaffed and stress levels are through the roof.

of course we care.

we care about the very conditions that creates the necessity to only provide minimal care, and how this affects our pts and ourselves.

we just want to keep our head above water.

i suppose that's why many of us come home w/banging ha's, sleepless nocs, stress ulcers and insurmountable fatigue.

it can be hell and what it inevitably amounts to, is that we suffer many of these ailments, because we do care.

that nurse you quoted, sounds like a candidate for burn out...

and wouldn't be surprised to learn that she's actually an awesome nurse.

i feel her frustration.

leslie

[LiverpoolJane]

It is difficult to appreciate how after years of working in a high acuity setting that sometimes the best way to cope is to switch off to the emotional side of things.

I was speaking to one of or ER Consulutants recently and I was shocked to discover that in the UK more ER Consultants die than retire. It highlighted to me what working in a highly stressed area can do to an individual. So if some find it easier to cope with their jobs by being totally objective it may well be their way of managing stess.

Try not to take the statement at face value, I work in an area were I we get to know our patients and their families and do become emotionally involved but I also do bank shifts in ER and can understand how you can become desensitized to the horror of what is going on around you - and I could see me being the same if I worked there for any length of time?

I think this is an interesting paper you have been asked to do and in any hospital you will see a whole range of care from the fast turnover fast paced traumatic side to the more gentle nurturing side and sometimes nurse need to do both.

Hope this helps? Jane

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I agree that she sounds like a nurse on the verge of burnout. Probably if you catch me at the wrong moment in time during a stressful day I might appear the same.

However, to answer your question, no I do not agree with that statement. I've been a nurse for 16 years and I still stop to think of my patients as humans beings, thinking "this could be me, or a family member" and how would I feel if I were in such a situtation, how would I want to be treated, and how would my I want my family member to be treated. Certainly it wouldn't be as "just another trauma". There's a human there that I need to find and relate to, otherwise it's time for me to move on.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

Wow, I can't help but think of all the nurses who have complained to me about not sleeping well due to worrying about "what did I not do that I should have done?" I do not agree with the quote, but do understand that many tasks are rote and that we have to maintain some objectivity in order to advocate for the patient or maintain our own psyche.

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

I would say that certainly the "human" aspect of each patient needs to be respected, and I would recognize each patient for who they were...

BUT, I would think that the tasks become rather mechanical, and you only spend the time you have with patients because you've got 342 other things going on across the spectrum of the floor, AND you're trying to deal with the other families and patients....it happens. I think we all want to provide the best care we can....but sometimes things conspire against us for that.

[ilstu99]

"You get to the point where you don't really care for the patients anymore and one GI (gastrointestinal) bleeder gets to be the same as the next GI bleeder."

I don't agree with the first part, and semi-agree with the second part. I absolutely care for my patients. They become my babies for the 12 hours I'm there, and every time someone even considers approaching their beds, I'm like, "Can I help you? Have you washed your hands? What business do you have here?"

As far as health issues and diagnosis....they all kind of run together. At first, I was like "ooooohhhhhh....possible NEC." And I wanted to read about it, learn about it, etc, etc. On my break, I would go check on the baby with the possible NEC, and read the changes in the chart, and so on. Now, it's more like, "Awwww....poor NEC baby. Are we keeping or shipping?" The interest in the "common" conditions wanes quite a bit.

When there's something "unique," word spreads pretty fast, and people usually take a sec to go check it out and learn something new. Otherwise, it's same PDA, different day.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

"You get to the point where you don't really care for the patients anymore and one GI (gastrointestinal) bleeder gets to be the same as the next GI bleeder."

1. This is a person who presumes that they speak for all nurses--they do not.
   
2. This person states they "don't really care for patients anymore" which makes me ask, why are you still working as a nurse?
   
3. When I got to a similar point, I changed jobs and went back to school and it changed my entire attitude.

[gonzo1, ASN, RN]

All the nurses I work with care very much for their patients. This is just the opinion of one person. Please take it with a grain of sand

[mpccrn, BSN, RN]

i can only agree with one part of the statement.....1 GI bleed is like another GI bleed. the novelty has long worn off but the caring never stops. :heartbeat

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

I think leslie said it best: the statement as a whole is loaded, and it's not a matter of "do you agree with it" but rather, "what about it do you agree with, what about it makes you frustrated, what about it makes you want to add your own qualifiers?".

Nursing is rarely, if ever, black and white. It's the eternal shades of gray that make us think what we think and feel what we feel, and all of that differs depending on the day and shift and staffing and.....more.

The one thing that I really DO try to keep in mind (sometimes it's tough, though) is that "the GI bleed in Room 22" has a name, and a story. Ok, the GI bleed part is not anything novel, but the GUY attached to the diagnosis IS.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

While I may organize my patients in my head as "Post MI room 12, Open chole room 13, trach with MRSA in 14, etc." I never, EVER forget they are people.

I think one thing that can lead to burn out is when a nurse ( or MD or EMT or policeman or fireman) thinks they are going to "save" people. Lots of people are in the medical condition they're in from choices they've made, and will continue to make -- like a person with lung cancer smoking from their trach, or the guy in liver failure, cirrosis, dying, cussing out his wife because she won't bring him a drink. You may get into this field to save the world, only to find out that most of the world doesn't want to be saved, they just want to be patched up enough to go back to the self-destructive behavior that put them in your hospital to begin with. I think if you internalize that, you can get jaded very quickly.

And unfortunately, "Failure to get their #*$&@ together" is not a valid NANDA diagnosis.