Did you hear Mary Harney saying that on Questions and Answers a couple of weeks ago? She was showing the nurses her tough, but caring side, giving out about their strike action. The audience were drawing in their breath a bit, so she said:
"Ah sure, we all love the nurses" or something like that.
I've been thinking about it.
I don't love the nurses.
Most of my experiences with nurses have been bad ones.
The nurses I know personally have told me great, gas stories about night shift when five are on duty, but four go to bed for the night!!?? (I wasn't impressed!). They told me about the overtime they get paid; the anti-social hours money they get paid; the three days on and four days off they work; the bitchiness towards each other and to patients who complain; the way they won't "lower themselves" to carry out duties that I thought were "nursing" the patient???.....
I'd get over all that, but, other experiences I've had with nurses aren't as easy to take. For example, the slowness in bringing pain relief to someone in absolute agony; the impatience, bluntness and roughness after I had my first baby; the promise to get something / someone when they get a chance and never doing it; the making me feel like I was getting a huge favour when they did something for me / my child / husband / mother; the baby talk to me, as if I was an imbecile; the needless temperature taking just when the poor patient had gotten off to sleep; the endless, pointless walking around they do up and down the corridors, in and out of offices just amazes and maddens me; the bed sores from neglect; the fear they have instilled in my old people; the calling them by their first name when they might have preferred Mr / Mrs; the night-time eating of my little four year old cousin's sweeties as she watched helplessly...
Nah. I don't like nurses in general. I really like my nurse friends, and I'm sure that some nurses are absolutely fabulous. I just haven't met many on my travels through our hospitals.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Completely off topic: Many thanks for support during the move to the new site.
You're welcome, although I did nowt. I'm full of admiration for your new site - I wouldn't even have a clue where to begin myself!
Right on Mairead you have to take every situation as it is and nit make sweeping statements like " Ah sure we all love nurses": stupid thing to say I have known a few nurses in my day and let me tell you some were like angels and some devils absolutely.
I have to say I think it is the hardest job one can do and if you don't love it you should not be in it, it's a vocation; it is I have to say also a very badly paid and thankless job. Perhaps if the money and the hours were beter if would up the strain a little on a too overloaded work-force. I don't know for sure but certailly money does help to ease the stress in everybody's life; the lack of money
certainly makes things difficult for all concerned. Y;-) Paddy
I agree with most of the things you've said there, Paddy. Some nurses ARE angels, truly cut out for the job, and deserve our thanks, respect and cash as tax payers. I don't agree with the vocation bit (although I know exactly where you're coming from). People say that teaching is a vocation too, and that is seen by teachers as an excuse not to pay them very well. Both jobs need immense patience and a love of the job and "client" though, so I suppose that's where the vocation thing comes up. Still, it's a bit too like a vocation to the nunnery for my liking!
By the way, I'm not singling out nurses. There are a few woeful teachers, gárdaí, doctors etc... too. It's just Mary Harney's comment about everyone loving the nurses that got me thinking.
I don't trust nurses either. It's the doctors that have the education. Nurses think they know more than the doctors but they don't.
Generally speaking, nurses aren't good for much. They can weigh me, take my BP, hand me a gown and leave. That's all they're good for. I never allow them to stay once the doctor arrives. If necessary I ask them to leave then lock the door behind them.
They don't have or show any respect for their patients, especially men. The world would be better off without them.
I really don't agree that the world would be better off without nurses.
Patients need nursing.
The world WOULD be better off without nurses who refuse to nurse alright, and impatient, cranky, rough nurses that scare the poor patient.
Agreed. There are a few decent nurses out there I'm sure. I just haven't been lucky enough to meet one yet.
I have met a couple of really brilliant, kind nurses.
The rest of them spoil the image of the decent nurses - probably like in every other field - but it matters so much that when you're sick and at a low, vulnerable point in your life that some ol witch is just plain mean to you.
The lovely, kind ones can light up your day on the other hand.
I don't like the sense of entitlement so many nurses have. My private parts are called private for a reason. If absolutely necessary I reluctantly allow male nurses to see or touch my privates if there's no logical way around it. But I don't get way female nurses (I'm a guy) feel entitled to do that kind of thing. They don't even ask or explain to me what they're doing or why. I've learned now to anticipate their actions and usually manage to stop them before they completely uncover me. I shouldn't have to do that. Don't any female nurses have a conscience? The male nurses (I always insist on now) have always showed more respect of my modesty, every one of them. I would think it should be the other way around.
Nowadays I always insist on a male nurse for every exam or procedure and never allow a female of any ocupation anywhere near me if nudity is involved. If that's not possible I go somewhere else or skip the procedure.
Everyone in the medical field wonders why so few men see their doctor regularly. I think that's why.
Post a Comment