Jeez, I wish I could have had you as a nurse during any of my hospital stays. I’ve had long (months) stays in 5 UK hospitals so far and the nurses (day or night) have all been ignorant and lazy at worst or incompetent and actively unkind at worst. Standing around on the ward, complaining to each other about their job as if the patients weren’t actually live, listening people. I know here isn't the place for my personal experiences and bitterness but the more I read about how you view your role as a nurse, the more I say, eh?!! Why haven’t I ever experienced a nurse like this?! I tell a lie. There was one nurse at Salford Royal who was wonderful. Caring and so kind to me but the rest have been absolute nasty bitches.
Again, sorry. I know no one likes moaning and bitterness...
@Gusber I’m so sorry you’ve had such awful experiences with the nurses who have ‘cared’ for you ... very disappointing, especially as you’ve had multiple lengthy admissions, so the nursing staff would have had the opportunity to get to know you and therefore should have been able to form positive therapeutic relationships with you.
I don’t think I could work with nurses who complained about doing a job they chose to study for and are paid to do, it actually makes me really sad and quite angry at the same time.
Standing around at the nurses station, much less gossiping about patients, is something that’s been highly frowned upon and actively discouraged at every hospital I’ve ever worked at, but then again I have always worked on busy wards where everyone has had to be prepared for anything to happen at any given time.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not always Florence Nightingale and I have had a few patients along my nursing journey who have made me want to pull a full on Mildred Ratched, but I’m always professional and try to go above and beyond for every patient in my care.
Remember that as a patient you have certain rights, so if you are hospitalised again in the future and you’re not happy with the care your nurses are providing, ask to speak to the Nurse Unit Manager (the nurse in charge of the entire ward) and air your grievances with them, because ultimately they are the ones who are responsible for the care you receive and the way in which you are treated by their staff.
Any course of action a nurse takes that can be considered professional misconduct, either ethically or legally, can result in a formal reprimand that remains on their permanent record, or in extremely rare circumstances having their Nursing Registration suspended or cancelled.
I can’t speak for other countries, but in Australia nurses are subject to regular performance reviews in which not only our practical nursing skills are discussed, but the way we execute our duties is evaluated, and any issues are identified and addressed.
For me, nursing is my passion and I absolutely love what I do (even on the really difficult days), and while it’s definitely not the most glamorous career in the world, I genuinely believe it’s the most rewarding.
Take care
@Gusber and I hope you don’t need another hospital admission any time soon.
ETA: Apologies for posting this on the first page of a new thread, and probably being a little off topic, Tattlers ... by the time I finished typing my comment the previous thread had already been locked.