The expectations of the public

[SeaCat]

I was talking with one of the Nursing Students on my floor and one of the longtime R.N.'s. Our conversation got around to the expectations of our patients. We had a few laughs but it got me to thinking.

We have many patients who think we are there to cater to them. They feel that they are the only patient in the hospital and are more than willing to push the envelope to get what they want or think they deserve.

A couple of examples.
The Paramedic had a call several months ago. He was called to an O.D., one who was in rough shape. They administered the drugs needed to save the patients life. The patient demanded that they A) stop at his G/F's place so he could pick up some things, and B) Allow him to smoke.

That patient then tried to sue the Fire Department because they denied him his rights.

One of my patients is another frequent Flyer, she suffers from a Blood disease. She demands that when we wake her to do her morning Vital Signs we have with us a cup of coffee, (French Vanilla) and several other items. If we do not have these then she is immeiatly on the phone. No not to the Hospital but to the state. She claims that we are being abusive and negligent.

Another of our patients is upset. (She is not my patient thankfully.) Her son, a lawyer has already called the state and claimed that we are being negligent. Why are we negligent? We do not have an R.N. and an Aide in her room on a 24/7 basis. We are not catering to her special needs, nor are we giving her the special attention she deserves. They don't wish to pay for these special services but they have come to expect them.

The R.N. was recently written up because she didn't adjust a patients I.V. to administer more painkiller. The patient was complaining of uncontrollable pain and had called the patients M.D. about it but had not received a call back. The patient called the hospital administrator about this. The Admnistrator came down on the R.N. like a ton of bricks because she wasn't taking care of her patient.

I have had patients complain about me because I didn't run across the street and buy them a pack of smokes.

I have had the family members of a patient call from another state and complain of inapropiate contact with their family member because I was the one who cleaned up the patient.

Medicine has changed. A hospital is no longer a place to go to get better, it is now perceived as a Spa. It is now a place to go for a vacation with the getting better as an incidental side effect.

The people who work there are no longer there to heal you, they are there to cater to you and your smallest wants, (or so goes the poplar perception.)

Cat

 

[lipsofanangel]

I can't imagine being that way if I had to be hospitalized. Ugh. You poor thing!

 

[3113]

Medicine has changed. A hospital is no longer a place to go to get better, it is now perceived as a Spa. It is now a place to go for a vacation with the getting better as an incidental side effect.

The people who work there are no longer there to heal you, they are there to cater to you and your smallest wants, (or so goes the poplar perception.)

I dunno, Cat. I don't think things have changed or that this perception is new. Go back in time to when people were stuck at home in the bedroom with a lone, spinster daughter nursing them and you'll see patients who expected that daughter to cater to their smallest wants.

As long as there've been hospitals, there've been ridiculous patients--some who think they're on vacation rather than in a hospital, some who are fighting off their fear of illness and mortality by displacing it into childish demands. The only thing that's changed, I think, is (1) the kind of wants, (2) the idea that if those wants aren't catered to that it equals some legal offence (neglect) and that lawyers should be called.

Personally, I don't percieve hospitals as either as spas OR as places to get well. But then my family history, and years in and out of hospital waiting rooms, has given me something of a jaundiced view on that score. Hospitals are places where you wait to see if someone's going to live or die.

 

[CharleyH]

I was talking with one of the Nursing Students on my floor and one of the longtime R.N.'s. Our conversation got around to the expectations of our patients. We had a few laughs but it got me to thinking.

Cat

I love nurses and doctors and think they all do us a service. I appreciate you are in health services, but what's your point, Cat? I disagree with the spa concept.

 

[SeaCat]

I love nurses and doctors and think they all do us a service. I appreciate you are in health services, but what's your point, Cat? I disagree with the spa concept.

My point?

Why do you go to the hospital?

Do you go there to be treated for your illness or do you go there for Filet Mignon? Do yu g to the Hospital for your broken leg, or do you go there for a Massage?

Unfortunately too many people have heard that when they go to the hospital they will be catered to. (It is a service industry after all.)

Cat

 

[CharleyH]

My point?

Why do you go to the hospital?

Do you go there to be treated for your illness or do you go there for Filet Mignon? Do yu g to the Hospital for your broken leg, or do you go there for a Massage?

Unfortunately too many people have heard that when they go to the hospital they will be catered to. (It is a service industry after all.)

Cat

Well, all you do is complain about patients, and I neither want a nurse or doctor who does that when I go to the hospital. (forget about my spa treatment comment - it was a grab in response to one person only - not you).

 

[SeaCat]

Well, all you do is complain about patients, and I neither want a nurse or doctor who does that when I go to the hospital.

LOL

You need to read some of my other posts then.

I deal daily with patients that would make you cry. They deal with their illness with a stoicism and a strength that is absolutely incredible.

Cat

 

[CharleyH]

LOL

You need to read some of my other posts then.

I deal daily with patients that would make you cry. They deal with their illness with a stoicism and a strength that is absolutely incredible.

Cat

I worked in a hospital for two summers in Uni, and believe me - nothing you could say would make me cry as much as I already have. Back to the question: So why are you bitching, again?

 

[CharleyH]

When a patient in a hospital? I would hope you cater to me and my ever whim because I do not want you to leave me alone because ... I am scared - I am scared of being sick - I am scared of dying. I do not want to be alone.

 

[ElizabethWest]

When a patient in a hospital? I would hope you cater to me and my ever whim because I do not want you to leave me alone because ... I am scared - I am scared of being sick - I am scared of dying. I do not want to be alone.

I'll hold your hand, but I draw the line at buying your smokes.

We have many patients who think we are there to cater to them. They feel that they are the only patient in the hospital and are more than willing to push the envelope to get what they want or think they deserve.

Sometimes I'm glad I no longer work the floor.

 

[SimonBrooke]

When I broke my back last year I spent a month in hospital. I cannot praise the nurses enough - they were superb, despite working under high pressure, and with not really enough staff to do what was needed. What amazed me, though, was how pleased they were whenever I thanked them - apparently, here in Scotland too, patients these days are usually demanding, rarely grateful. Indeed, I observed quite a lot of behaviour towards the nurses that I would have had a hard time tolerating if I'd been then. And this wasn't just younger patients, it's all ages.

 

[champagne1982]

Since Canada has insured access to medical assistance for everyone, we have a different perception of what levels of care the staff should provide.

During my recent hospitalization on the heart ward, my nurses were incredible but for one who'd spent too many shifts and assigned to a very unfortunate gentleman. He was paralyzed from the shoulders down after an aneurysm burst and damaged his spinal chord. He had a huge bedsore and was in constant pain in spite of treatment and meds so when he shouted, the nurse had to respond. The stress from being ignored would likely have killed him.

I won't say my care suffered because of it, but there were a couple of issues that resulted through it. (ie -- I was catheterized for an extra 10 hours, my pain meds weren't changed to something I could tolerate better and my telemetry wires were still attached.) In my mind these were rather trivial, but attach this to physical discomfort and emotional distress and you'll find that the backrub I got at 2 am when I woke up from soaking my bedding with sweat in a reaction to the meds I was on, may have gone slightly unappreciated and the arrival of my doc to remove the telemetry at 7 am went a little poorly because of my resentment that I had to lie flat on my back for 4 hours and miss my shower.

I just wanted to add my 2 cents to this discussion because although a hospital isn't a spa it is a place where someone pays to be cared for by attentive and willing staff. In other words, the patient care professionals may not want to have a patient clamouring for unreasonable care but the patient absolutely doesn't want to be in the 'spa' at all, so asks for attention they perceive as due. If they were able, I'm sure they would rather pay a resort than a hospital any day.

(Besides, the food isn't all that wonderful either.)

 

[wordofvirtue]

Just work in corrections -- it's great. No more catering, no more bending over backwards, no more worrying about being written up. The inmates get the basics, and when they "demand" frills I can just walk away. I can even swear if they really piss me off. You're still taking care of people. More often than not, they are very appreciative of anything you can offer. For alot of these folks, the only medical care they get is during incarceration. I hear the words "thank you" exponentially more than I ever did in a hospital setting. You get jerks once in a while, but after a day or two they usually apologize and get along well. I'm telling you, I'd pick prison over a hospital any day now that I've experienced it.

And I do understand the need to vent. Feel free to email me anytime. Been there, understand that.

 

[carrie-on]

When I worked the floor,I felt much the same way Cat does. Many of the patients (not all) were very demanding and when I explained to them, that they are not the only ones in the hospital,some settled down and apologized. I have no problem caring for folks who are sick,that's why I became a nurse,but I don't deserve to be verbally and even sometimes physically abused,because of working in a "service" industry.
It is also the reason I got away from working in the hospital and work Hospice and Home Health now. Granted,not all of my patients are seriously ill,just old, but they do appreciate the fact that I come to see them and often thank me for it. It is nice to feel appreciated and not taken for granted.

 

[SeaCat]

Okay Charley, just for you.

Let me tell you about one of my other patients.

David is a self made man. He is worth more money than some Third World Countries. He is 43 years old, single and very urbane. He was also recently diagnosed with advanced Testicular Cancer. Last Monday he had his Testicles removed.

Yesterday I picked him up as my patient for the first time. I had of course heard of his diagnosis and was braced for a withering blast when I entered his room. I was ready for the anger and the self pity. Instead I walked into the room, updated his board which told him who his R.n. and C.N.A. were as well as the date and other information. I chatted with him as I took his vital signs. When I finished I asked him if there was anything he needed. He asked if there was any way he could get a cup of coffee. Hell that was something I could do.

I brought him his coffee and told him that if there was anything he needed to call me.

Later that afternoon I arrived at his room to check up on him as well as to help him with his bathing and to re-make his bed. I took care of his Catheter Care and other things. We chatted as I worked and I hit him with my own brand of somewhat ribald humor. When I finished he thanked me.

Later on in the day I checked in on him again. He looked down, which was to be expected. He asked me if I could answer a question for him. I told him that if I couldn't I would either find the information he needed or I would find someone who could answer it. He asked me what he should do next, what he should do with his life.

Well we talked for a while. How could I answer this? what he did depended on him and not on anyone else. I told him this. we talked for more than a little while. He appologised for taking up my time.

A short while later he called for the Unit Supervisor. When she arrived he did two things that shocked her. The first was he praised the unit for the care he had received. The second was he volunteered to help on the unit. (Some day soon I'm sure he will be showing up at the unit.)

Cat

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I have been hospitalized a couple of times and I would never think of acting like some of your patients do. There is no excuse for acting like that anywhere you go, especially not at a place where the people are there to help you with such specific needs.

 

[SeaCat]

Today was the last day before a one week vacation. (A much needed one by the way.)

Two of my patients found out about this.

The first, a 79 year old woman who has just had a toe removed was quite upset. She asked me what kind of care she was going to get, I was the only one who would get her out of bed and I was the only one who pushed her. I told her that it was up to her to get moving, that I wanted her to keep walking even though it was painful. I also told her that I wanted her to insist on being cared for, but not to demand to be catered to. (She knows what I meant, she's a retired R.N.) She asked for my home address and informed me that she was going to be writing a letter to the head of the hospital.

The second patient is a younger woman. All of 30 years old with a Hysterectomy. She came in with a large encapsulated infection. She had a drain inserted and it is slowly getting better. She knows me as I have taken care of her before. (When she had her Hysterectomy.) This time she has been in for almost two weeks. She was sicker than a dog when she came in and once again I was the one who was cleaning her up. This time was even more embarassing for her because of the odors her infection was creating. I ignored the odors and took care of her as was needed. When she found out about my upcoming vacation she was unhappy. She asked me about it and I explained that yes I was going to be off for seven days. She wasn't happy, she was in fact more than a bit angry. As I was getting ready to go off shift she came up to the Nurses Station where I was finishing my paperwork. In front of my wife, my boss and my co-workers she came up to me and told me her doctor had told her she would be getting out of the hospital in a couple of days. I congradulated her on this and she stood there acting embarrased. Then she surprised me by hugging and kissing me. She thanked me for taking care of her.

Cat

 

[drksideofthemoon]

Do you understand what HIPPA regulations are Cat?

 

[CharleyH]

I'll hold your hand, but I draw the line at buying your smokes.

LOL- if I was dying, Liz? You'd better damn well bring them and a Black Russian, too!

 

[Seamus123]

It's just gobsmacking that some people can behave this way. Being in a society where the level of care that people recieve, such as ours, is a privelege (in my opinion) just as much as it is a right, although I think people forget this as they rush to sue for negligence.

I think that these folk should just be grateful they have the opportunity to get healthy again. I also think that it's terrible that the first thing they think of when they begin to get healthier is the insatiable craving to smoke.

 

[CharleyH]

Okay Charley, just for you.

Let me tell you about one of my other patients.

David is a self made man. He is worth more money than some Third World Countries. He is 43 years old, single and very urbane. He was also recently diagnosed with advanced Testicular Cancer. Last Monday he had his Testicles removed.

Yesterday I picked him up as my patient for the first time. I had of course heard of his diagnosis and was braced for a withering blast when I entered his room. I was ready for the anger and the self pity. Instead I walked into the room, updated his board which told him who his R.n. and C.N.A. were as well as the date and other information. I chatted with him as I took his vital signs. When I finished I asked him if there was anything he needed. He asked if there was any way he could get a cup of coffee. Hell that was something I could do.

I brought him his coffee and told him that if there was anything he needed to call me.

Later that afternoon I arrived at his room to check up on him as well as to help him with his bathing and to re-make his bed. I took care of his Catheter Care and other things. We chatted as I worked and I hit him with my own brand of somewhat ribald humor. When I finished he thanked me.

Later on in the day I checked in on him again. He looked down, which was to be expected. He asked me if I could answer a question for him. I told him that if I couldn't I would either find the information he needed or I would find someone who could answer it. He asked me what he should do next, what he should do with his life.

Well we talked for a while. How could I answer this? what he did depended on him and not on anyone else. I told him this. we talked for more than a little while. He appologised for taking up my time.

A short while later he called for the Unit Supervisor. When she arrived he did two things that shocked her. The first was he praised the unit for the care he had received. The second was he volunteered to help on the unit. (Some day soon I'm sure he will be showing up at the unit.)

Cat

Cat? I love you and think your profession something many cannot do, and I admire that. I am, however, lost, when you recount intimate patient details, here. I wish you would not.

 

[Just-Legal]

Cat? I love you and think your profession something many cannot do, and I admire that. I am, however, lost, when you recount intimate patient details, here. I wish you would not.

Why? We have no way of knowing who he is talking about. Even if we knew which hospital he worked in there is no use of names and only bare references of age. Unlike my ex, who I could quite happily report for plenty of breaches of confidentiality purely because I did his washing >.< He always forgot to leave his own notes (not patient notes per se but generic stuff he was told at handover) at work and I always found them in his trousers.

I think Cat provides a somewhat unique insight into his profession and always look forward to his posts.

--

On a side note, when my fiance went in for his surgery I was totally disgusted by the attitude of some of his fellow patients... However found the cantankerous old gentleman who refered to me as a painted whore quite amusing, because I was painfully polite to him the second I realised he wanted me to live up to stereotype.

 

[R. Richard]

My point?

Why do you go to the hospital?

Do you go there to be treated for your illness or do you go there for Filet Mignon? Do yu g to the Hospital for your broken leg, or do you go there for a Massage?

Unfortunately too many people have heard that when they go to the hospital they will be catered to. (It is a service industry after all.)

Cat

I have been in a hospital from time to time. I am grateful for the care I have received from the overworked nursing staff. I have had some needs that were not met. mainly because of the overworked staff, however, I understand. However, if you could give me the name of a hospital that serves filet mignon as a regular part of the patient diet, I would be eternally grateful!

 

[CharleyH]

However, if you could give me the name of a hospital that serves filet mignon as a regular part of the patient diet, I would be eternally grateful!

ROFLOL!

 

[CharleyH]

Why?

It's lost for many reasons, JL, as I think I have recounted in previous posts.