to think SOME nurses are in the wrong profession.

[pink1978]

Prompted by an incident where a relative with a really bad fracture overheard a conversation along the lines of. "If she like that with pain relief" In fact pain relief wasn't working.
There have also been lots of other incidents with other people I know and things I have witnessed on the wards with other patients.

I agree with CalamityKate. There's something about nursing (and midwifery in particular) that essentially attracts two types of people: those who are really kind and caring and want to help people; and those who have only joined the profession so that they can exercise their sadistic instincts. I mean, I understand the arguments about being tired, frustrated, all the rest of it, but you genuinely do get some nurses who are downright nasty.

I think however caring you are it's bloody hard to achieve gold standard when there's two of you on a ward.

All the nurses I've ever met with one exception were fantastic, knowledgeable and caring and most went out of their way to do the best for the patients. How they managed to do it at that level of staffing I have no idea. I know for sure that I couldn't do the paperwork, management, ward rounds, staffing issues and still nurse as nursing should be done.

I'm in hospital at the minute, all the nurses have been lovely and are looking after me well. Apart from one junior sister who tried to spray some medicine up my nose without telling me what itbwas or why. She got stroppy when I stopped her.

And oh joy she's just walked into the bay. I guess she's looking after me this afternoon.

YANBU

I left nursing cos of peoples nasy attitude.I was rmn and loved my job but simply couldnt stand by and watch anymore young people get sectioned,restained unecessarily or over medicated.I went into it to care not progress through the ranks at cost to patients.

That said i have been cared for by some great nurses but recently my elderly grandma would sit for hours with no help to eat or drink and made to wait ages for the toilet. Very varied but that is not acceptable imo.

I was admitted to the respiritory ward of my local hospital in Feb 2009. I was left in tears by my treatment by EVERY nurse and HCA in there - and I was the youngest person on the ward by 40 years. I was very ill with pneumonia - yet I was having to disconnect my oxygen to go and help feed the 3 old ladies on the opposite side of the ward as the nurses and HCA's refused to answer the buzzers, I was having to help them onto their commodes, I was given no information about an injection they wanted me to have - and when I refused to have it without someone taking the time to explain WHAT IT WAS to me - I was told I could die without it - when I still asked for someone to come and explain it to me, I was left to worry that I would die without it for 11 hours until I broke down in tears and HELD ONTO A NURSE'S ARM and refused to let go until he told me what it was for. (He tried to walk away even though I was in tears and thinking I was going to die because I had refused an injection of God-knows what until it had been explained - and he told me he was too busy to speak to me)

I think my threads from then have gone, I think they were in Chat - but I wouldn't want to let a dog stay in the respiritory ward in my local hospital - much less myself or one of my relatives.

NOT ONE NURSE OR HCA on the ward treated me OR any of the other patients on that ward like anything other than a nuisance - so yes, there are plenty of people that are Nurses that shouldn't be - and they normally end up on wards where their patients are less likely to complain, on wards where most patients are elderly.

However - the nurses on the CHILDREN'S ward at my local hospital, are the kindest, most caring nurses I have ever come across. Why is there such a difference between the two wards in the same hospital? The only reason I can think of is that the PARENTS of the ill children are likely to complain (and be there 24/7 to see any bad treatment of their dc), whereas a lot of elderly people don't have anyone to speak out for them (or be there 24/7 to monitor their treatment). Sad but true. I assume my local hospital shoves all the awful nurses that have been complained about on the respiritory ward!