WOW! The public really doesn't like us, huh?

sweet~revenge · Jun 3, 2011

folks, I am an outsider here. I am not a nurse, if i could pick any profession to be in at this point of my life I would love to be a nurse. Not for the money, I am a business man and make more money then I ever thought I would, its a pretty shallow accomplishment. From my experience, from the perspective of my family, and from what I know from talking with others, nursing is one of the most respected and appreciated professions there is. We know when we are in the hospital, nurses do 90% of the care, we know if somehting isn't right it will most likely be a nurse that notices and reports it. There will always be the minority who in this case as in other segments of our society are the most vocal, who will complain, blow things out of proportion, and just plain lie. We are becoming a society of whiners and victims. We have to have a bad guy to be a victim, and we have to have someone to take responsiblity for our bad choices. But rest assured, your work and compassion is recognized and appreciated by the vast majority of society. I lost both of my parents within a few months so I spent a fair amount of time in the hospital, I can honestly say, all but one of the nurses were just exceptional, each and every one exceeded everything my family expected. Even though we lost our parents, we made a donation to the hospital recognizing the NURSES who made their last days, and out time of need as good as it could be. That is what the majority sees, not some sniveling, whinning, whimps who use the anonimity of the net to be victims. Hang in there, you are treasured more than you will ever know.

Thank you so much. I'll be honest with you: after 3 stressful nights at work, your post made me start crying. It's so good to know there's some support and appreciation for nurses.

pedicurn, LPN, RN · Jun 3, 2011

there is an assumption by some CNAs/HCAs that the RNs should do an 'equal' share of the 'any person' person work rather than their fair share .... and doing assessments and documenting them , doing medication rounds or other RN only tasks are percieved as 'not pulling your weight' until all the any person tasks are done ...

You hit the nail on the head :yeah:

Shame that some nurses and managers are also supportive of this perception

iNurseUK, RN · Jun 3, 2011

It's not so much the public that don't like us but the ever-lovin' scandal-hungry media.

Course the trolls are gonna come lumbering out with the guaranteed anonymity of the comment sections in much of the news media online and paint a distorted picture of the public perception of nurses.

My ward has a "Daily Fail (Mail)" spot on the staffroom noticeboard. I print out especially ludicrous articles and put them up then my staff are invited to comment on the whiteboard. Best comment wins a box of chocolates. This is a fun morale-raiser even though most of the comments are not repeatable here!

:)

JSlovex2 · Jun 3, 2011

I was once a CNA too and I'm curious about this mentality that the nurse should only ask a CNA to do something if they are absolutely swamped. So if both nurse and CNA are available to answer a call light or do something for a patient that doesn't require a licensed nurse then it should always automatically default to the nurse unless the nurse is actively engaged in a nursing task at that moment? So the nurse should leave the CNA at the nurse's station to do what the CNA is capable of doing and then when a task comes up that can only be done by a nurse they have to do that too because the CNA can't do it.
How many paychecks am I collecting again?
If the CNA isn't engaged in doing what a CNA is capable of doing what exactly are they doing at that moment because they sure aren't going to help me out with the things I'm licensed to do. Honestly, I remember many a day as a CNA when I bust my butt but many a day I was walking the floor looking for a spot to chill so that the nurses couldn't ask me to do anything. It's not just the nurses that can be lazy and avoid answering call lights and such. Let's not pretend that every CNA is a hardworking angel and that every nurse is a lazy slave driver.

you're interpreting it differently than i said it. i didn't say that nurses should only ask for help when they're absolutely swamped. i said there were nurses when i worked as a CNA who wouldn't ask me to do something "simple" unless they were swamped. very different. for one thing, i was on top of things so it was rare that i would need to be 'asked' to do anything obvious. i'm talking about things like the time i was in a patient's room and a patient in the room next door asked HER NURSE for a pepsi (i could hear the conversation), but instead of grabbing it from the fridge which was literally about 20 steps round trip - she pokes her head in the room and says, "will you get her a pepsi?" the patient doesn't understand why (and neither do i) the nurse kept standing there instead of grabbing her a pepsi. that's why we end up with these bad reviews about nurses not answering lights/requests in a timely manner.

everyone has their own idea of how the process should work. i personally believe that nurses should be primarily caring for the patients and assistants should be picking up the slack. assistants are there to HELP WITH tasks, not to do tasks INSTEAD OF the nurse WHEN the nurse is able to do them. back to the pepsi thing....had i been sitting around not doing anything then sure, it would make sense to ask to fetch a drink. considering i was helping a patient at the time and she was standing in the hallway right by the galley - no, i don't think it makes sense to make that patient wait for someone else to get finished doing what they're doing with another patient before they can get a drink all because the nurse thinks it's "not her job." i've seen it a million times and i still see it every day.

i do my job as if i don't have an assistant. that way anything that they do is just an extra bonus. i decided a long time ago that i wanted to be like the nurses i saw who did everything they could for their patients instead of doing the bare minimum they could get away with. i hope someone will kick me in the face if i ever ignore call lights or chase someone down to do something i could've already had finished. if i do that, it's time to quit.

Lovely_RN, MSN · Jun 3, 2011

Thanks for clarifying JSlovex2.

ayla2004, ASN, RN · Jun 3, 2011

How much i delegate depends on what is happening on a shift, pt stable, resonable pt load, ill do RN and assistant work excepts pt requiring 2 person assits. More pt and/or less stable i will delgate tasks to ensure pt needs are met, I will still fecth drinks, toilet pt etc as i can. however they are some jobs i can only do that take time so i need to free myself to achoeve these.

zippy gbr i agree there are loads of moaning on my ward if personal cares fall more on hca and nurses are seen as lazy. some hca will even leave pt(washes) if they have feel they have done too much, they won't pair up to help each other.

Funny RN can do anything a hca/cna can do i would love to primary nurses withouth hca/cna but i can't.

I tell pt at times i'm not able to fetch somthing at that time but i will as soon as i can, they dont always understand but hey that people.

anotherone, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2011

I don't know how we're supposed to get the message out to the general public that the highlighted duties take precedence over fetching a box of tissues or a fresh pitcher of ice water if your own co-workers don't get it.
I do care about my patient's comfort but keeping them alive is more important then their momentary discomfort. If the patient isn't able to understand that the CNAs certainly should. I don't think it's fair that some of them expect me to do 50% of their job, 100% of my own, and want to have an attitude about it on top of everything.
I think a nurse needs to develop thick skin, get the job done, and stop worrying about whether people like them and think they're a "good" nurse. It seems to me that the perception of the public and some of our co-workers is that a "good" nurse is a a doormat who never says I can't or won't do that no matter how innapropriate the request is or what they are doing at that moment.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't feel that all nurses are hardworking angels of mercy. I have had the pleasure :down:of working with some very lazy nurses who do make their patient's and ancillary staff miserable. They do exist but they are not the majority of most of the nurses I have encountered.

Thanks for your post. I dream of the shift where getting a box of tissues is the priority. The cna sitting at the desk can do that. He/she can not give out my already late medications or follow through on other orders. I am sick of getting attitude from people when I don't do some of their work as well as all of my own and the 1324324 other departments we are supposed to "help out."

anotherone, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2011

Thanks for your post. I dream of the shift where getting a box of tissues is the priority. The cna sitting at the desk can do that. He/she can not give out my already late medications or follow through on other orders. I am sick of getting attitude from people when I don't do some of their work as well as all of my own and the 1324324 other departments we are supposed to "help out."

To clarify my post this is an example. The nurses aides on our floor are to get the vitals as long as there are enough aides. Well, knowing the attitude of some of them, I try to get my pt's vital signs. One night I was running around so behind I couldn't. Meanwhile one aide started yelling about, "some nurses not doing any of their vitals." AHHHHH. lol

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2011

I recently read a news article in relation to call bell systems and posted it here. (I'm not sure if it's spamming if I mention the name of the article, until clarification I will just leave the title of the thread off). Anyhow, I just took the time out to read the 127 comments and only 6 of them were positive. A large majority (maybe 98%) of the negative commenters blamed the nurses. Many of them called us lazy, some said our only job is to pass meds so why can't we answer call lights. One lady was mad because it took 5 mins for her call bell to be answered. Another issue I think is that many patients believe that nurses are the only people responsible for the call light system, when in reality all healthcare professionals present on the floor can answer a call light. Some of the comments say we just stare at the computer or our cellphones all day, often laughing and gossiping with eachother. Nursing shortage was brought up a few times and followed by, it's not the shortage it's the laziness. A commenter said we should be checking on patients every 15 minutes. Upon the 127 comments, many people were "liking" these negative comments. I wasn't really shocked in the beginning but as I kept reading I became more and more shocked with disbelief. So what happened to Nurses being one of the most trusted professionals out there? GEEZ! I am not sure that this poor image of us will be changed, but I bet the hospital CEOs are happy they aren't the ones wearing the blame. I just wanted to vent. Feel free to vent here as well

I'd be willing to bet 90% of the negative comments come from frequent flyers who've found that the staff at their facility of choice is onto their games. Think about it for a moment...........who has more time to be on the computer and post comments than the frequent flyers? The patients who get better and have a life to go to after discharge...............don't have time for that stuff.

Thats always been my biggest gripe with PG. Surveys? Really? Thats the best you can do? Right there you have a slanted score system. The professional patients with no jobs (on disability), family wants nothing to do with them, no funds for any social life/hobbies.........they have all the time in the world for surveys. Now, we all know they are never happy with their care..........they want so much more than just medical care. Being in the hospital is their holiday, their vacation from the daily grind (w/e that is for them, guess deciding what to watch on TV every day is a grooling experience). When the staff doesn't kill themselves making the hospital experience resemble a few days at the Hilton..............you get comments like the ones posted in the thread you posted.

On the other hand, with a pt. who has a life to go home to isn't likely to remember to fill out that survery. The father who has a job and wants to get better so he can return to work, the mother who misses her children.........the patients who just want to get better.........don't fill out the surveys. These people have the most realistic view of how good/bad their care was........don't have time for surveys.

Hence, we are in the position of: The people with the highest opinion of us, the ones who return to their lives, don't often respond. Our best work goes unoticed.

rumwynnieRN · Jun 4, 2011

After working in a hotel for a year, I figured out that customer service goes both ways; we're offering you a service and you're offering to pay for said services. If you're that difficult, business isn't worth it. I got so fed up with people during the day that I asked to work night audit (that and an incompetent coworker) -- graveyard shift.

I don't think educating the public will do anything; you can do all the education and people still won't get it until they actually have to do it. Unless they're taking care of someone, they won't have the slightest idea of what a nurse actually does. If you try to explain things from a health care provider's perspective on a non-health care forum, people flame you immediately because they don't read your entire post or because it doesn't go with what they believe. Whatever. Ignore the trolls.

imintrouble, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2011

It may appear that all I'm doing is sitting at the Nx Station and looking at a screen. But what I'm doing is charting my little heart out, because the pt who c/o about me being lazy is the one who's going to sue me and cost me my LIFE.

LIFE is a little over the top, but I'm allowed a little outrage when being called lazy.

LPNnowRN · Jun 4, 2011

Haters gonna hate.
They should step into the shoes of a nurse for a day in any setting and see what it's like. I recommend LTC, personally.
Let the "public" try dealing with a needy patient, one that refuses all cares/meds, one that's dying, and one that just fell on the floor all while everyone else wants to go to bed, be toileted, or "have a pain pill". Oh shoot, did that dementia patient just exit through the emergency door? By the way, you have a call holding from the doctor you called three hours ago. (I can keep going...)
I mean, if the "public" feels so competent and thinks nurses should be doing the work of the CNAs at the same time, why don't they give it a try? We have all this time to text and web surf, so it can't be that hard.
Right?

AMEN!!!