You know its going to be a bad day when your first patient calls you a "motherf----r" and says "get out of my room, I'm not lettin' any of you do anything to me", as her alcohol tinged breath wafts across the room.
Okay.....it's 9:15 and I have 11 hours and 45 minutes to go. Among the other patients was someone in for mental health because their grown son had just been sent to prison for life.
Then there is the 55 year woman who has been fighting cancer for 10 years (and looks it) and this will be her last day of life. She will not go out quietly. Death isn't pretty a lot of the time. It involves noisy breathing that tortures family members. It can go on for a while.
There is the young man found staggering around a local mall and when the doctor asks what's going on with him, he gives her the finger. OK then....
There is the crack/pot abuser in her early 30's with seven children whose family brought her in because they don't know what to do with her anymore.
There is the man from another country with both cancer and tuberculosis who is dying. Sometimes I just feel weary of the suffering and troubles. I'm human.
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I suppose you can't just offer her AMA forms.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be a good nurse. 'There's the door, you can leave at any time. Otherwise, chill the f*** out.'
Same as in the UK . It's a shame you can't tell them to f*** off . ��
ReplyDeleteMy feeling, after reading this, is one of extreme gratitude that there are good humans like you in our world. People who give the best of themselves no matter what or who they're dealing with. I don't want to get soppy here, but just know ... Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDitto Han2SO4 and (((((HUGS))))).
ReplyDeleteIf you hate working so much, and love complaining, then why the hell do you keep doing it? Seriously, you have no right to talk about people like that, no matter what they are doing. It is your job to take care of them and provide care and medical help. You obviously don't like doing it, so just quit!!!
ReplyDeleteAnon if you dont like what you read, quit reading it. I work in the ER and some days its rewarding but those days are out numbered by the number of days its not rewarding. Writing about our experience is a way of freeing ourselves. Being a nurse is a stressful job. We often go 12 hours without a bathroom break, let alone lunch break. We have to put on a happy face after being belittled by jerks and people like you. How about you go to school, get $30000 in debt to pay for it, and then tell me how happy and rewarding your job is...... You tell the writer to quit..... well why dont you just quit reading her post? Oh wait, then you wouldn't have anything to complain about.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your blog. Don't let the haters get to you, it really isn't even worth TRYING to explain life as an ER nurse. If you haven't done it, then you have no idea! Not to say other areas of nursing don't have their own challenges (I'd go crazy from Admission paper work and having the same patients day in and day out), but the ER is a WHOLE different story.
ReplyDeleteAnd the sad thing is that you're NOT allowed to be human. I work in a hospital near "Ground Zero" of Hurricane Sandy and we are INUNDATED with patients. I hadn't eaten/peed/slept in 20 hours and lost my cool to a med/surg nurse, and said"Thanks for nothing," when I got annoyed at her. Well, in two seconds flat, she was on the phone with my manager. It's been over a week and I'm STILL hearing about it...
(a) Thank God I didn't say what I wanted to say and (b) What does this nurse do when she's presented with REAL problems in life?
(c) Did she just TELL ON ME?! haha
Thanks for such an honest and REAL blog