Nurse Abuse

Ok- I know I am not the only person out there dealing with this! I am sick of feeling abused! I understand people are in the hospital becuase they are sick and when we are sick we are not always our nicest! But come on! I can not take much more! I am sick of being called names, being yelled at, pts smacking towards me, and so on. I am not even including the confused pts in this. I give them a lot more slack!

If I listened to every pts request - we would have a few less grumpy people in this world. Last night I cared for a man who complained more about his fliud restriction and me checking his vitals than anyone I know! He was mad that I turned lights on (even though I would not have realized he was becoming slightly cyonotic). He got mad the second time I check his vitals (even though his o2 sat was 79%). Then he had a fit that we placed a venti-mask on him (after multiple attempts to raise his o2 sat).

At the end of my shift- during my final rounds- when I said good bye- he was sure to tell me how much he hoped I would not be back tonight! He was no longer hypoxic - what's his excuse to be an ass at this point in the shift?

I guess he wanted that other nurse (the lazy one) who fakes he vitals misses stuff like o2sats in the 70's and finds he pts cold and blue on her last round....code blue anyone?

I guess I will just have to let it slide and remind myself how much I enjoy helping others. Someone told me nurses don't need recognition for saving lives- it's just what we do.