Wow ... Horrible Nurse Interaction, please tell me if I'm over reacting ...

Okay, PLEASE tell me if I'm over reacting here. I am still in the hospital, and after waiting an hour when my meds were overdue, I went looking for my nurse, first pressing the call button, then going out in the hall.

Shift change was at 7. I didn't see her at all until 8:45.

Went looking out in the hall, dragging my IV pole. Couldn't find her. She comes in 10 minutes later saying not to go out and look for her. Okay, fine. She gives me my scheduled meds - antidepressant and anti anxiety, but no pain meds - leaves. Comes back another hour late with my pain meds. I was literally crying in a ball on the floor and had to run to the bathroom to vomit.

Then she comes in with Toradol for me and says to me, "Ma'am, please don't cry, it makes me feel like I'm not doing anything."

Please tell me what you think of that. Thank you.

(And yes, I became angry after that and got nasty and said something like maybe you shouldn't be a nurse if you don't like seeing people cry in pain. Yes that was uncalled for and I should have kept my cool.)

VICKIE - so sorry about that language!!! I'm fuming right now. Hope I fixed it in time.

I know when I'm inpatient, my nurse for the day shift tries to give me pain meds around 6:30 if it's an option. With the shift change at 7, I usually don't have the night nurse in my room until 8:30 or 9. Sometimes I might be lucky and be the first patient the night nurse will see, but more often than not, it's a bit later in the evening. Usually it's not the fault of the nurse, but the fault of staffing. It's frustrating, but usually it's because there's an issue with another patient. One of my stays was due to a fistula that never healed from a Gtube removable. It leaked stomach acid if I moved to much one way or another. I remember I had a sneezing fit and-HOLY COW-a ton of acid leaked and burned the skin. My nurse had entered my room expecting to give meds quickly and then move on. She ended up in my room for an hour and 2 others had to join her. Eventually surgery finally came up and they were able to see to other patients.

I hate that your pain was allowed to get out of control. Hopefully the Toradol will kick in and give you some relief.

BTL,
I guess I should have sent those T&P's via Fairy Godmother, there much quicker than Fed Ex. I probably would have told that nurse that your crying was a result of her not doing her job and then she would have given me even worse service.

I get it and from both sides however she should have just did what she came to do and left off the snide remarks. Unfortunately Rock has the timeline and shift changing down correctly and nightshift invariably has more patients per staff and report can run hour,hour and half real easily since your likely trying to wait out several second shift nurses to sign off and report to you,still the offgoing nurse should have dealt with your meds if it were time and she had not passed you on yet.

Like all other careers these days the types of persons filling the jobs are not those necessarily dedicated to it as WB and I were in our reign. Many choose nursing simply as a financial means these days and if they can carry the grades,pass the boards they're in. Gone are the days when you were expected to uphold a certain air of professionalism such as we did. There was a time when your off duty behaviors could put you in jeopardy of losing your professional license! All that has been removed from the nursing creed now and thats a sad end for an era of caring,dedicated,folks who were in the field not for financial gain but because they were dedicated to the highest levels of patient care they could provide.

It's not so much about patient care anymore but a means to an end to be successful financially. My very first nursing job in 1978 right outta school paid about $4.50 an hour and minimum wage was somewhere around $2.70 !!

As for giving the hep first that's protocol and some nurse's just dont or won't veer away from that,generally the younger or newer less experienced that still functions on all those protocols versus experience and plain old patients comfort first.

Just saying that as inpatient I do not make a ideal patient because I still live by the creed and expect my caregivers to as well. I have d/c'd several of my own IV's waiting for discharge or bordering infiltration!! No I do Not recommend anyone doing so. I also sign releases to give my own hep and flush my port so you can gather I know how good a nurse I was just not so trusting of those who took a job simply because they could buy a nicer car or live in a better part of town!! Lol and there are those who still choose based on a need other than money and they're the ones I remember to request.

You definitely have a right to be upset. I don't want you to think I was siding with the nurse. I just know it happens right at that 6:30-8:30 time frame.
If you know that your pain meds will be due right around 7 today, ask the day shift nurse to run by your room before report. If they know beforehand that pain meds will be due, it's easy to swing by and administer those to patients. I'm told give enough notice-like call around 6:15 so it's on their list. If you really seem to be getting along with your nurse today, ask for the number of the phone she has for the floor. That way you can get ahold of him/her without going thru the desk. Some CNAs are better at passing along information than others.
I hope today is a better day and you get some answers as to why you are in so much pain. Hopefully the urologist will have some answers.

It just irritates me something fierce when I hear of nurses or any medical personnel acting this way! As for shift change yes there certainly can be some slight delays. But I know from experience (from both sides of being patient and nurse) That shift change is no excuse for long delays in answering patients call buttons and giving patient care! But yet it often happens and is to often given as the reason for long patient delays! I personally think it is shamefuf! As a nurse or any care giver of any type your number one concern should be your patients and their welfare! All else is secondary and you never ever openly blame or verbally express negative feelings about a patient! If their patient is crying the care giver should try and find out why and then try to remedy the situation or as a mminimum console the patient! But you don't blame the patient or in anyway criticize the patient!

Yes sadly I think attitudes have possibly changed among allot of care givers now days! As a generalized rule I think it is true most Doctors and Nurses and medical care givers make lousy patients! But I think partly it is because we know to much about what really goes on! There is a saying " ignorance is bliss" I'm not at all sure that isn't at least partially true!


White Beard