How I Wish I'd Been A Nurse!
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
May 26, 2011 7:49pm CST
Nursing would've been the ideal profession for me BUT I am quite a squeemish person which doesn't help in some situations, so I never "took the plunge" so to speak.
Having said that, though, I wouldn't be any worse in the caring department than the shower they have now, especially regarding care of the elderly in particular.
Basic needs are NOT being met and it astounds me that, in the 21st Century, the elderly are being treated this way..lack of food, water..you know, the basics in life we all take for granted.
I have actually witnessed lazy nurses in action(!) and I tell you something, if I'd been in charge of them I'd have rounded them all up and punched each one, in turn, on the nose, making ME feel much better but - ultimately, such actions would lose me my job. God, how I hate the term "Angels!" I haven't come across an "Angel" yet in my local hospital.
There should be more whistleblowers, in my opinion and nurses that DO care should not be hounded out of their profession by the very bullies who don't know HOW to care. Have the reasons for being a nurse changed? Have I missed something? Is it a necessity now to just stand around talking instead of seeing to an elderly person who has TRIED to buzz them but can't because the buzzer has been placed (on purpose) out of reach? That's cruelty in my book and such nurses should be sent to jail for such neglect.
I guess this latest report on the state of care for the elderly in (certain) hospitals has got me rattled.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Three-Hospitals-Are-Warned-They-Have-Broken-The-Law-By-Providing-Poor-Care-To-Elderly-Patients/Article/201105415999845?lpos=UK_News_Top_Stories_Header_1&lid=ARTICLE_15999845_Three_Hospitals_Are_Warned_They_Have_Broken_The_Law_By_Providing_Poor_Care_To_Elderly_Patients
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Three-Hospitals-Are-Warned-They-Have-Broken-The-Law-By-Providing-Poor-Care-To-Elderly-Patients/Article/201105415999845?lpos=UK_News_Top_Stories_Header_1&lid=ARTICLE_15999845_Three_Hospitals_Are_Warned_They_Have_Broken_The_Law_By_Providing_Poor_Care_To_Elderly_Patients4 people like this
8 responses
@r3jcorp (1382)
• Philippines
27 May 11
I wish too that I've taken a different course during college time. I am a graduate of BS Accountancy and now working in the Treasury Department in one of a government agency. I was happy with my work and I know I have a work which I knew I am good at. But things had been different when my children are all in school and they have lots of activities which I wanted to attend to. I am thinking if I had taken Education instead, I could work but still could attend to their needs at school and they could easily go to me whenever they wanted to be. I have seen my college batchmates working at school and they seems to be happy though they have lower income than mine.
Maybe we will have to be contended to what we have right now. And I am hoping that we will not experience the cruelty of some nurses, I know there are lot more good than bad ones.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
27 May 11
I don't like to think ill of nurses but I have witnessed for myself how neglectful they can be. At one time the good ones outnumbered the bad, now it's the other way round.
It seems a poor state of affairs to be grateful that we get treated well in hospital. I know my Dad is terrified of them as he's in his 70s now..a dangerous age as many of his friends never came out once in there.
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
27 May 11
Hi there,
I have worked for nursing homes and cancer treatment centers as well, and some are very caring while others are so overworked they simply do not care. Although, I should mention here our nursing homes are very monitored and watch to assure the elders are taken care of properly. Still knowing that I have heard of some gruesome stories where many have been injured and neglected.
I often said it takes special and caring people to assist the elders and if they do not want to do it they should not be there. We will all grow old someday and certainly would not want to be mistreated myself.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
27 May 11
You make a very good point about..if they don't care what are they doing in the nursing profession? I mean, if you didn't like animals you wouldn't be a vet would you?
I reckon there should be more of this undercover filming going on..or even having webcams installed without the nurses' knowledge. I realise this is extreme but, how much abuse is going on that we don't know about?
I bet it's rife!
@ElicBxn (63568)
• United States
27 May 11
wow... I have met some really caring nurses, tho I have to say that at a lot of "nursing homes" the over worked few real nurses are probably there because they aren't any good at being GOOD nurses, and the aides... well, only do the minimum...
Now, I have known caring aides, and not just at mom's place - but those caring ones either are ground down by all the bad ones, or they leave to go some place else...
There was one aide at mom's that I took aside and warned that this wasn't like other nursing homes, and when mom went back in to the care center after a few months because she was unable to stay in her apartment, I noticed that one was gone. I liked her, personally, but she didn't treat the people right, she treated them like the Medicaid/Medicare nursing homes she had/was working in (she said she had 2 jobs.)
I do think that hospitals that don't treat their patients well should be shaken up from the top down - because if the administrators really cared about the patients, then they would be looking at the care instead of the "bottom line."
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
27 May 11
The NHS hospitals are free though so it's not about profit in those. This is why I'm so angry about it. Many NHS Care Homes were closed down under the Thatcher government and Private ones have taken over. If we allow this poor care to continue in the NHS hospitals, private firms will take over those as well..and I don't like that idea.
Because many Care Homes have closed - ironically, to take away the responsibility of the hospitals, it's now come full circle but the nurses aren't trained to deal with the elderly like they used to first time round. Matrons would run the wards, not administrators and subsequent governments have told us they will make a come-back but nothing has changed.
I have come across Auxilliary Nurses that care more than the qualified ones, who spend their time gossiping instead of doing what they are supposed to do and that is care for patients.
I believe webcams should be installed on ALL WARDS as there are plans to install them in slaughter-houses. The elderly probably feel like they're in a slaughter-house as - once their relatives go home, they have no voice..rather like the animals.
1 person likes this
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
27 May 11
This doesn't surprise me. And I wouldn't necessarily blame the nursing staff, but the administrators who don't have enough help and the government (this is the UK) for not paying enough to get good care.
The same thing will happen in the US once we're under Obamacare.
Today in the US there are great nursing homes for the elderly and poor ones. My ex's mother was in 2 poor ones before we pulled her out and had home health aides instead where we could watch over her care.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
27 May 11
I don't see how administrators have anything to do with nurses stood around chatting but I take your point.
Bring back Matron I say! She'd sort them out!
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
27 May 11
when i was in grade school i had big dreams of becomng a nurse one day. i don't think it was so much being squeamish or seeing blood that deterred my vision. i think it was the expense of the schooling and the time involved that took the dream away. i still think that the nursing profession is a great career. if i had the chance and opportunity, i would probably still go for it.1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
27 May 11
Would you punch any of the shirkers on the nose? I would..and I'd gladly get sacked for it!
@yougenie27 (6)
•
27 May 11
I can't blame for thinking that most nurses no longer know how to care. I am a Filipino nurse practicing here in the Philippines. Try as I might to justify other nurses' behavior, I couldn't because that's part of reality. I don't know what are the reasons behind their actions but there are still nurses who really care. I don't want to carry my own shoes and tell everyone that I am a caring nurse. Caring is very subjective. I may think I am very caring but if others don't think so, I won't contest his/her idea. All I know is that I try to do my best to provide maximum comfort to my patients whether they are terminally ill or not. Caring isn't the sole reason for being a nurse nowadays. We are well aware of the fact that nurses get a good pay check overseas and I think that is one reason why caring is no longer magnified in our profession. I'd say, the view is always different on the other side of the mountain. :-)
@yougenie27 (6)
•
28 May 11
Hospitals have their code of conduct guidelines but not everything written in there is being implemented--we are all aware of that. Nursing leaders here are trying their best to "clean" the system of nurses who do not act as one. I don't know if the same measures have been implemented in your country to make sure that no more nurses will degrade the profession any further. Nonetheless, you can always file a complaint against the nurse whom you think did not perform her job well.
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
27 May 11
My experience of hospitals and nursing I will admit is very limited, but every nurse I have come across has been working extremely hard in difficult circumstances. I feel that the fault is in a system where nurses are expected to do so much, and not with the individuals. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but I seriously doubt that nursing is something that one could do long term without a lot of commitment and dedication.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
27 May 11
How do you explain a group of them chatting instead of seeing to a patient that has buzzed them? That's not overwork, that's neglect. Let's face it, who is there to actually oversee what they do? There are no matrons on wards anymore, so, basically, they are left to their own devices and are accountable to no-one but themselves. Ward Sisters are more interested in trying to free up beds, they are more like administrators. No matter what the system is there are always going to be nurses that really don't want to do the job..they're in it for the money.
If they go on strike I won't be supporting them.
@changjiangzhibin89 (16750)
• China
27 May 11
"to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully","I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous."FlorenceNightingale's oath is still ringing in our ears.Don't those nurses who neglected their duties and placed the buzzer beyond the aged reach feel deeply shamed?
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
27 May 11
I don't know my friend but they should. Poor Florence will be spinning in her grave if she knew what was going on in our not-so-wonderful NHS.
