I am a nurse.
I am expected to care for you or your family members in the utmost professional and compassionate way. I give you medications that I need to know dosage and side effects. Maybe you have 5 medications or 50, but I am expected to know how they may affect you.
I have to bring you water, meals, and chart how much of that meal you eat. I have to consider whether your medications should be taken before or after eating. Sometimes both.
I have to wipe your brow when you have a fever. I wipe your bottom if you are too sick to. I worry about you like you are my own child, mother, father, or grandparents. I fix the broken TV remote. I adjust your bed. I come running when you have to go to the bathroom. Sometimes I cannot go to the bathroom myself because your needs are above my own.
I am expected to be super-human. I must have a good balance of clinical skills, as well as empathy and compassion because frankly, if your nurse has no personality, you are not going to feel well cared for.
I look at labs, X-rays, and all your tests and determine whether we are on the right course of treatment. But this is not all just for you; I have 4 to 5 more patients to do this same thing for.
If you are in pain, or are vomiting, I call the doctor for more medicine. Sometimes these medications have side effects that can make you feel worse than you already do. I weigh the consequences and determine whether you need the medication.
I am a teacher, housekeeper, nutritionist, maintenance expert, and waitress all rolled into one.
I love my job and wouldn't give it up for a minute because I see someone's thankful eyes and know that I am doing OK.
But is it OK to expect me to be super-human and then treat me like I am subhuman because things are not going your way? The doctor did not give you the information or med you wanted or another nurse wasn't as nice so you are angry or upset and take it out on me? Is it fair that your family sits with you 24 hours per day and I have to care for them just as much? And when your family doesn't get up to help when you run to the bathroom, its my fault for not being there in that second? I am their waitress, housekeeper and maintenance expert as well. I leave the room most times angry, upset, and sad because you feel I should be at your becking call every second yet you do not get up to help your family member at all? And then I have 4 more rooms to go to and do the same thing all over again.
I am human. I am not perfect. Our healthcare system is a mess and we are expected to perform 24 hours of work in our long 12 hour shifts. Sometimes my shifts would last an extra 30 minutes or an hour. I remember days where I was at work 2 hours later still charting all the happenings of the day. I go home and my husband gets frustrated because I didn't get out on time.
I am tired too. Sometimes I don't feel great or I have a headache. But that doesn't matter because I am there to take care of you.
So, tell me people, is it OK to curse at me, tell me Im an idiot, and treat me like I am worthless? Is it OK to treat the doctor this way too? My job depends on how satisfied you are with your care, so even when you make me cry and I silently go to the bathroom to sob, I have to get back in there and continue to take the verbal and emotional abuse. I go home and cannot even talk about what happened so my family just wonders why Mom is coming home from work crying. They are used to it now. They dont even bother sometimes.
Please think about how you treat people. Everywhere- at the gas station, grocery store, or library; these are people too. They have hearts and feelings, and do not deserve to be made to feel like they are worthless. They do not deserve hate. Or judgement. Or sarcasm. They deserve kindness. The old saying, "if you can't say something nice" goes a long way. Humans taking care of humans.
Try to act a little more humane.
I am expected to care for you or your family members in the utmost professional and compassionate way. I give you medications that I need to know dosage and side effects. Maybe you have 5 medications or 50, but I am expected to know how they may affect you.
I have to bring you water, meals, and chart how much of that meal you eat. I have to consider whether your medications should be taken before or after eating. Sometimes both.
I have to wipe your brow when you have a fever. I wipe your bottom if you are too sick to. I worry about you like you are my own child, mother, father, or grandparents. I fix the broken TV remote. I adjust your bed. I come running when you have to go to the bathroom. Sometimes I cannot go to the bathroom myself because your needs are above my own.
I am expected to be super-human. I must have a good balance of clinical skills, as well as empathy and compassion because frankly, if your nurse has no personality, you are not going to feel well cared for.
I look at labs, X-rays, and all your tests and determine whether we are on the right course of treatment. But this is not all just for you; I have 4 to 5 more patients to do this same thing for.
If you are in pain, or are vomiting, I call the doctor for more medicine. Sometimes these medications have side effects that can make you feel worse than you already do. I weigh the consequences and determine whether you need the medication.
I am a teacher, housekeeper, nutritionist, maintenance expert, and waitress all rolled into one.
I love my job and wouldn't give it up for a minute because I see someone's thankful eyes and know that I am doing OK.
But is it OK to expect me to be super-human and then treat me like I am subhuman because things are not going your way? The doctor did not give you the information or med you wanted or another nurse wasn't as nice so you are angry or upset and take it out on me? Is it fair that your family sits with you 24 hours per day and I have to care for them just as much? And when your family doesn't get up to help when you run to the bathroom, its my fault for not being there in that second? I am their waitress, housekeeper and maintenance expert as well. I leave the room most times angry, upset, and sad because you feel I should be at your becking call every second yet you do not get up to help your family member at all? And then I have 4 more rooms to go to and do the same thing all over again.
I am human. I am not perfect. Our healthcare system is a mess and we are expected to perform 24 hours of work in our long 12 hour shifts. Sometimes my shifts would last an extra 30 minutes or an hour. I remember days where I was at work 2 hours later still charting all the happenings of the day. I go home and my husband gets frustrated because I didn't get out on time.
I am tired too. Sometimes I don't feel great or I have a headache. But that doesn't matter because I am there to take care of you.
So, tell me people, is it OK to curse at me, tell me Im an idiot, and treat me like I am worthless? Is it OK to treat the doctor this way too? My job depends on how satisfied you are with your care, so even when you make me cry and I silently go to the bathroom to sob, I have to get back in there and continue to take the verbal and emotional abuse. I go home and cannot even talk about what happened so my family just wonders why Mom is coming home from work crying. They are used to it now. They dont even bother sometimes.
Please think about how you treat people. Everywhere- at the gas station, grocery store, or library; these are people too. They have hearts and feelings, and do not deserve to be made to feel like they are worthless. They do not deserve hate. Or judgement. Or sarcasm. They deserve kindness. The old saying, "if you can't say something nice" goes a long way. Humans taking care of humans.
Try to act a little more humane.
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