Nursing today....How the system sets us up for failure.

Jeez! Sorry about the triple post, don't know how that happened. Must have been really tired or something. lmao

reply to post by enchantress62

Jeez! Sorry about the triple post, don't know how that happened. Must have been really tired or something. lmao

That's ok enchantress62 we were taught to check things 3 times.

In the early morning hours while working the Nursing Home I didn't notice the janitor come in. That time in the morning I was really running my arse off. He mopped the floors and left a puddle by the Nurses Station, without a yellow barrier around it. I slipped and fell hitting the back of my head! OMG had a huge goose egg! (probably a concussion). I still had to finish about 15 rooms of treatments, meds and get ready for day shifts report. Then one morning just as I was doing my final rounds I walked past a room and an elderly man was choking. He was sitting in bed eating his breakfast and something was definitely caught in his throat. I yelled for help, but everyone was waiting in report. I really don't know how I did it. I got this tall blue-faced, grasping his throat of a man out of bed, stood him up by myself and did the heimlich maneuver on him. He coughed up a big chunk of something! Finally someone did come and help me get him back in bed. He was ok and as ornery as ever! Not due to lack of O2. He was always an ornery old goat! lol.
Oh by the way, all those (trained & heroic deeds we did. Oh that's right we're not hero's just the firemen & cops). lol We will pay for it dearly in the Golden Years- ie bad back, knees, shoulders ect.....

reply to post by enchantress62


Nursing is yet another job we all take for granted and have little appreciation for when it comes to the people who work in the field. It takes a certain personality to be able to work in that field. You have to be able to take verbal/psychological abuse daily. There is no shortage of discrimination if you happen to be a minority (from the point of view of the patients you are caring for). As for the right to work factor in AZ, yes it does truly suck. All I know is I couldn't do that job, whether my responsibility was to clean up the bed pans or or whatever.

I also have my issues with some nurses regardless of their ethnic background. I do feel there are those who do not belong in the field and simply can't cut it. I realize how understaffed and underappreciated you are but I've seen my share of blatant ignorance when it comes to taking care of patients. It's about the patients, you are their lifeline and they need you. It's a lot to ask for given all the crap you have to deal with but you made a choice, it's about the patients and they need your help. Thank you for everything that you do and put up with to all the nurses out there who actually care about their patients. To those nurses who do not belong in the field, I have some other words for you.

Originally posted by enchantress62


Interesting theory, I don't know anything about "Eugenics" Do you have more information? I think it's time that we all start talking about this, instead of just accepting it as the way things are. I do agree that you become desensitized to it all. When I first started I cried a lot over patients I lost, but now days I don't cry anymore, instead I try to get the body out of the facility as fast as possible. Not because of any noble reason either, just the work involved slows down everything else I have to do. God! I hate that all the humanity is gone out of nursing today!

Eugenics is based on the premise that most traits are unconditionally inherited, that selection (read: extermination) is the only way to improve - whatever that means to the people doing the selecting.

it's what the nazis started with, once they got the ball rolling, coralling the public into doing the same to dissenters was apparently an easy task.


make no mistake, nazi ideology was just one expression (out of many) of a worldview, in which people are merely considered a form of capital, or goods. Nazism was at one time quite popular, especially among the higher echelons, on both sides of the ocean. do you believe, Hitler came up with everything on his own?

www.notdeadyet.org...

www.eugenicsarchive.org...

PS: take a look at the following video:

www.youtube.com...

i wonder if you heard that in school?

Originally posted by MountainStar
reply to post by enchantress62

 

Oh by the way, all those (trained & heroic deeds we did. Oh that's right we're not hero's just the firemen & cops). lol We will pay for it dearly in the Golden Years- ie bad back, knees, shoulders ect.....

I know exactly what you're talking about. When I worked at the hospital I came on shift one night and took report on a 36 year old man who was admited for acute back pain. The nurse giving me report said he was drug seeking and had been heavily medicated throughout the day because of his constant demands for more pain meds. After report I went to check on him and found him lying in bed, his neck hyperextended, and his tongue pressed to the roof of his mouth. I was a new nurse at the time and didn't really know what I was looking at, but I did know it wasn't normal and an indication of neurological problems.

I ran and got my charge nurse and together we worked throughout the night to keep this man alive. We called the PCP several times with no return call. We finaly called a doctor that we both respected, and worked for the hospital, and she ordered a STAT CT. Turns out he had an absess in the cervical spine and it was about to burst. The radiologist said if we didn't get in the neuro surgeon STAT the man would die. We tried all night to get ahold of the on call Neurologist with no return call. At 6 am when the man finally crashed and was being intibated the Neurologist showed up and very causally started givng orders. For the first time in my life I wanted to commit murder! lol

There was no acknowledgement for working our asses off to save the man that night, we didn't even get the curtousy of being informed of his condition after we were dismissed from the scene. To this day I still don't know if he lived or died. The Neurologist waltzed in and took over. There was no hello, tell me what's been happening, or even who's in charge here. Forget about thank you's or great job girls! I walked away from that scene understanding one thing. We nurses don't matter!

I didn't expect thank you's when I got into nursing, but I did expect to be part of a team, not the willing concubine of a disorganized, chaotic, and often times abusive system. I just keep thinking there's got to be something we can do to change it. I've heard some good suggestions on here and I think if we keep talking maybe we can create some hope.

Originally posted by Long Lance

Eugenics is based on the premise that most traits are unconditionally inherited, that selection (read: extermination) is the only way to improve - whatever that means to the people doing the selecting.

it's what the nazis started with, once they got the ball rolling, coralling the public into doing the same to dissenters was apparently an easy task.


make no mistake, nazi ideology was just one expression (out of many) of a worldview, in which people are merely considered a form of capital, or goods. Nazism was at one time quite popular, especially among the higher echelons, on both sides of the ocean. do you believe, Hitler came up with everything on his own?

i wonder if you heard that in school?

Thanks for the info. I remember saying the pledge of allegence in school as a kid, but I don't remember saluting that way. However all this information was extremely interesting and I'll be doing some more research on it, again thanks for showing me these links. I can see how this theory is possible with what I know about nursing today. The idea that "The Powers that be" are telling us they expect a critical shortage of nurses when the "Baby Boomers" get into retirement age, which is real close. One can see how that train of thought could easily turn into, "Well why don't we consider euthenizing the more serious cases in an attempt to cut down on some of the work load" And we nurses who have been taking the abuse for so long would be desensitized and I can see how many would be in support of the idea. At least the younger ones who get into this profession and then see their youth slipping away before their eyes! I'm a "Baby Boomer" So I'll probably be one of those murdered. lol

Originally posted by enchantress62

Thanks for the info. I remember saying the pledge of allegence in school as a kid, but I don't remember saluting that way...

of course you don't, they phased it out for obvious reasons, before the US entered WW2. i find it shameful that noone told you a single word about Eugenics, it is imho, vital for a nurse or any other healthcare professional, to know about the skeletons in the basement, whether domestic or aborad.

for the record, forced sterilisations took place in the US, too, so the topic IS of interest and, imo, MUST be adressed early, to warn newcomers against any kind of politically motivated abuse of the medical system. on the long run, things like creeping euthanasia will only scare people away and the potential outlook looks rather grim if the movement succeeds, because people will most certainly take their chances with snake oil, ie _anything_ rather then being subject to culling eugenics.

the fear can be easily be seen, here on this forum just take the following thread:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

no matter how justified the accusations are, they are a sign of growing distrust.

Originally posted by Long Lance

Originally posted by enchantress62

Thanks for the info. I remember saying the pledge of allegence in school as a kid, but I don't remember saluting that way...

on the long run, things like creeping euthanasia will only scare people away and the potential outlook looks rather grim if the movement succeeds, because people will most certainly take their chances with snake oil, ie _anything_ rather then being subject to culling eugenics.

the fear can be easily be seen, here on this forum just take the following thread:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

no matter how justified the accusations are, they are a sign of growing distrust.

This is very interesting and the person who wrote that post was not far off. A person goes on Hospice when the doctors say nothing more can be done. Once on Hospice they stop all therapies and radical treatments. The idea is to make you as comfortable as possible until your time comes, so they treat anxiety, depression, pain, and shortness of breath, but beyond that not much is done. They will allow antibiotics if the person gets an infection however, but when the persons disease progresses to the point that they no longer want to live or they become unresponsive the SOP is to put them on comfort care. This usually involves giving morphine (standard dose is 0.25ml per hour as needed. The theory is to keep the person pain free and their breathing stabalized. Interestingly I've seen doctors perscribe as much as 1.0ml per hour as needed. I got into trouble one time for asking the question, "If their unconscious are they really in pain? Why are we giving so much Morphine to someone who probably isn't feeling anything?" I was basically told to shut up! and written up for challanging the doctor in front of the family. OOPS! lmao

I know a man right now who's on Hospice, he's a sad case. They have him on scheduled Morphine 0.75mls every 3 hours and Ativan 0.5mls every 3 hours, plus he can have the same dose every hour as needed. The guy is so stoned he can hardly hold the medicine cup up and he's only in his 60's. He's not going to die any time soon, but the amount of narcotics he's getting would kill the average person. I think it's cruel and abusive. This particular guy would benefit greatly IMHO by taking him off the meds and getting him outside for awhile. He's end stage COPD (Cardio Output Pulmonary Disease). He smokes and then begs for morphine, and we endulge him. it's sickening to watch.

God bless nurses. I hope everyone reads this thread, especially if you have never talked to a nurse on a personal basis to verify what has been reported.

After the one time I had been in a hospital after surgery, I was used to a nurse at least sticking his/her head in the door every so often to at least see how I was doing. Ten years later when my elderly mom was hospitalized after surgery, my sisters and I were in her room for four hours and no one came in. I thought at one point, oh good here is a nurse but it was only housekeeping to empty the trash can. That hospital was definitely understaffed.

I am glad to see more use of hospice and more DNR's being written. 20 years ago, my grandmother was resuscitated, was dying in the hospital but made to pull through; but every day for a year in the nursing home she prayed to die. My mother finally said that her mom had died the year before, in the hospital not in the nursing home. She did not want that to happen to her, and we made sure it didn't.

I could not do the job you all do. Bless you all.
And for all your education and continuing education, you deserve to be monetarily compensated accordingly. Sure can't run a hospital without you!

Originally posted by jitombe
reply to post by enchantress62

 

It takes a certain personality to be able to work in that field. You have to be able to take verbal/psychological abuse daily. There is no shortage of discrimination if you happen to be a minority

I also have my issues with some nurses regardless of their ethnic background. I do feel there are those who do not belong in the field and simply can't cut it. I realize how understaffed and underappreciated you are but I've seen my share of blatant ignorance when it comes to taking care of patients. It's about the patients, you are their lifeline and they need you. It's a lot to ask for given all the crap you have to deal with but you made a choice, it's about the patients and they need your help.

In an ideal world ethnisity should never play a roll in the quality of a nurse, or in the trust a patient feels for that nurse, but we don't live in an ideal world and I've seen my share of discrimination going both ways. I work with a man from Africa, he's a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) One day I walked into a patients room while this CNA was trying to put socks and shoes on the man. I found the man kicking my CNA in the head while screaming racist comments. I was so mad I was shaking, but when I complained about it to the managment I was told that the man is confused so disiplinary action would be useless. The CNA was a good sport about it, saying, "It's ok, believe it or not I understand where he's coming from." I went home and balled my eyes out.

On the flip side, what I hate just as much, is the attitude that some nurses have about patients they deem not worthy. The demanding, pretentious, snobbish patients who can get on your last nerve. I understand their frustration but they are also our patients and therefore we have an obligation to give the same quality of care. There are a few of these types at our facility and the nursing staff does procrastinate when going to meet their needs. I get really mad when I see one of their call lights on for an extended period of time, or when I have to respond because no one else is, and the patient tells me that the CNA came in but said they had to finish something else first and then never came back.

I don't want to come across like I"m Miss Perfect Nurse, cause I'm not. I have my share of off days and I don't always make the best decisions when under pressure. Nursing is hard at best, but I do strongly believe that if we're going to be in this business it should be for the right reasons. As you said in your post, "It's about the patient". However, I can tell you that there are some days when You'd like to scream at the top of your lung, ALL OF YOU CAN GO TO HELL!

reply to post by enchantress62


Enchantress62, I wish there were more nurses out there like you. If I end up in a hospital for whatever reason I would be lucky if the nurse taking care of me had your attitude. If it's for something life threatening, I am DNR all the way. I know exactly what you're talking about with the call bells ringing and nobody in the nurses station paying attention to it. Those are the nurses I want out of the profession asap. There are plenty of useless employees in every field of work, time to clean house. I have zero sympathy for slackers, f them all.

Wow, I truly sympathize with all of you who work in the medical industry. To which, without all of you, many of us are likely to have died at some point in our lives or another. I have truly loved and respected beyond belief, each of the people who have dedicated their lives to helping others in such a selfless way.... It really does sound like it takes a toll on your lives, in more ways than one.

On the other side, being a patient is difficult as well. I don't know who was around when I posted about the government trying to take my newborn... But it was the worst time of my life. I am not sure who decided that every child born premature must be from a drug-addicted mother, but I am still having a hard time proving my innocense with drug tests on demand, and just trying to "act" perfect so they cannot see that they have made me fearful and unstable.

This is NOT due to doctors, or nurses' actions in any way. My doctor vouched for the fact that he could not stop my little girl coming so soon, because of "weak cervix". But still, I must have been guilty, they figure... The lies these people fed to every person I know, to try to turn them against me so they could take my daughter made me sick. If not for my awesome high-risk pregnancy doctor and all his hard-working staff, my daughter would not have made it.

So sorry about the rant. But this has been bothering me for so long... I still cannot figure out why things like this work in the way they do. All of the wonderful ladies in NICU were nothing but some of the most kind and caring people I have ever met!! I wish there was some way to give those in the medical profession more recognition, because it's obvious, you guys save lives and are definitely not in it for the "money". Why take advantage of this country's most caring people? I think teachers are pretty taken advantage of as well, and the work they do, is VERY important!!

Why discourage caring individuals from getting into these professions in the future and cause a lack of such people offering these services??? I am worried about where this country is heading. But that is not new.

Sorry again, for the rant. I could never ever do what many of you guys do. I really think that some SANE patients are taken advantage of also.

Originally posted by LostNemesis
On the other side, being a patient is difficult as well. I don't know who was around when I posted about the government trying to take my newborn... But it was the worst time of my life. I am not sure who decided that every child born premature must be from a drug-addicted mother, but I am still having a hard time proving my innocense with drug tests on demand, and just trying to "act" perfect so they cannot see that they have made me fearful and unstable.

I am truly sorry to hear that you have to go through this, and if I understand you correctly, you got to keep your baby? Congratulations on that! I knew a woman once that was addicted to Meth. She also had endometriosis (sp), and was on birthcontrol to control the bleeding. Interestingly she got pregnant which was a miracle in it's self, but when she was taken to the ER, because of abdominal pain, and was informed that she was pregnant, it changed her life. She got off the drugs, got a job for the first time in 2 years and pulled her life together. That baby saved her life, and yet when it was time to give birth they tested her repeatedly for drugs, they looked hard for evidence to take her baby away, but could find none and so she got to keep her baby. He's almost 2 years old now and she still has to prove herself worthy on a regular basis. It's unfortunate that ppl like this are judged so harshly. However, not that I really want to defend the doctors and social workers, but all you have to do is experience the pathetic pain and suffering of a newborn addicted to Crack, Meth, Heroin, etc... and you'd be paranoid about everyone too.

I do agree that doctors and nurses sometimes loose interest in the emotional part of the job. When you have more patients then you can possibly take care of in an 8 hour shift, something has to give, and unfortunately, all too often, it's the feelings of the ones we're there to help. Last night at work, we had this same discussion. 10 years ago when I first started in this business. I truly wanted to be the nurse who sat at the bedside holding Grandma's hand and fighting for her comfort. It took about a year for me to get over that! I know that sounds cold hearted, but every little thing you do for that person takes time, and in this business time is soooo precious! I can't sit at Grandma's bedside without neglecting someone elses needs, and that's a sad situation to be in because so many of our patients could benefit greatly from just a little attention!

I just got done watching a video in another thread. The video is about the "Powers that be", their control over us, what their intentions are, and what's happening to us as a result. It's very pertenant to the subject we're discussing in this thread and addresses my OP statement of "Nursing today...How the system sets us up for failure" I have known for a long time now, that nursing today was being manipulated somehow and it was no longer about the patient or truly trying to help them or make them comfortable in their old age, but I haven't understood why anyone, even the upper etalons would want ppl to suffer so. After watching this video it all makes a lot more since to me.

FYI the thread I found it in, is under General Conspiracies and is titled, Esoteric Agenda the most shocking video of truth you will ever see! heres the link for the video, but fair warning it's about 2 hours long so view it when you have time. I think you'll find it facinating!

video.google.com...