PLEASE educate yourselves!

glendaaus

This was a good thread. For me I worked in a hospital for 8 years and did Quality Assurance - quite the eye opener, but I believe in medicine and science, and even may consider a late life career in nursing (to be decided soon) In saying that I now work for a Natural Therapist - and I believe in what she does for people as well.

For my health I believe in balance and education. I take my diabetes medication (even though my employee doesn't believe in it) BUT I also take natural therapy for my general health.

We definitely need to be educated - but don't believe everything you read. Get the professionals help and then do what is a good fit for you.

I have extreme dieted and exercised and it doesn't do any good in the long run - you will pay for it later down the track.

Thanks for interesting topic.

Aintplayin

I applaud you.... I'm not offended one bit.

humblemonkey

i wish more poeple would take this advice! too many people in the hospital i have to deal with because they decided to NOT LISTEN. grr... i.e.- a pt who wouldnt take their lasix because "its just water weight" and if she has SOB she can "always come to the hospital to get fixed." there is a serious lack of brain cells out there.!!!!!!!

im giving this post 5 stars and then some!!

oh I would just swear I've taken care of that patient before!

Or the guy who had a BP of 204/132 who didn't take his atenolol because he didn't like the way it made him feel... because his body was in total shock to have a BP of 140/90... you don't like the way that makes you feel? Will you enjoy dropping dead of a stroke?! JUST SAYIN IS ALL!!!!! ahhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

btw, it is ALWAYS acceptable to step into the back stairs and stomp your feet and yell like a wild woman to drop the frustration, HOWEVER, do not punch the wall... patients WILL ask what happened to your knuckles =/

LMAO. I have worked on an ambulance for the past 4 years.... and i have been to places... yuck. thats all i can say. little trailers with kerosene heaters and all the windows closed with 6 people chain smoking and the pt with COPD calls 911 because they cant breathe. Guess what-- when we get them out the door they can magically breathe again. Common sense is really lacking in our world.
Did you read the article in American Journal of Nursing about the diabetic who came in with a super high BS and when the nurse asked him why he didnt take his insulin he said it was because he didnt have any oranges? She asked why he needed an orange and he said to inject---- the nurse who showed him how to administer insulin had hi draw it up and inject it in an orange for practice...never had him do it on himself LOL

Kjarlune

hate it when nurses and doctors are over weight....not a good example!......
u.s doctors are the worse....they like to pump $$ out of sick people doing stupid test that never lead to anything...
especially teaching hospitals, this happen to my mom she had to go to her country el salvador to find out she had kidney problem get cured twice cuz u.s docs are...mmm stupid??....she would have died here.... maybe mcds is handing out degrees! ..and it cost way less than here, along the way my dad lost our house because of medical bills that lead to NOTHING!!!!!!............my rant done!!....

I quoted this as an example, though there are similar posts in this thread. Way too many people in the general public like to throw all doctors into one and make crazy assumptions, and this is part of what the OP was complaining about. It's no different than categorizing all teachers, overweight people, or black or Latin Americans as the same. People are NOT the same, and doctors and nurses are people too. Doctors do NOT make money doing tests, especially not in teaching hospitals. We don't make money from prescriptions either. There are all kinds of crazy rumors being spread about doctors that are not true. It's ignorant to go running around repeating something when you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.

It pisses me off cause I worked hard in medical school, and I work hard long hours trying to keep my patients safe and figure out what's wrong with them. I work at a county hospital where most have no insurance so every test or medication I order is coming out of my taxes, not the patient's pocketbook. I spend my precious time explaining to a patient what's wrong with them and give them a treatment only to be ignored and have them come back sicker because of it. There is also the constant threat of lawsuits unlike in any other country.

And by the way, I see a lot of sick people who didn't have a diagnosis despite going to several doctors but I diagnosed them. Was it because their doctor was a money-grubbing idiot with a degree from mcDs? No! Mistakes happen, but most of the time it is because as the body evolves into the disease state the diagnosis becomes more obvious and the diagnostic tests start to come back positive.

I will never generalize like so many are happy to do, but I will say that the vast majority of doctors and nurses are well-educated and doing what we're doing out of passion and concern for their patients

Completely fair...You are right, it is unfair to judge or lump every Dr. into the same pile. Like every other profession there are good and bad. However, and I am just asking....The very first rant here, which was to each their own for the record, however wasn't that generalizing that if you are not a Dr. or a nurse you know nothing without professional opinion?and you are stupid to self diagnose? I am just wondering and could be wrong...For your post though absolutely fair.

DreamLittleDarling

i wish more poeple would take this advice! too many people in the hospital i have to deal with because they decided to NOT LISTEN. grr... i.e.- a pt who wouldnt take their lasix because "its just water weight" and if she has SOB she can "always come to the hospital to get fixed." there is a serious lack of brain cells out there.!!!!!!!

im giving this post 5 stars and then some!!

oh I would just swear I've taken care of that patient before!

Or the guy who had a BP of 204/132 who didn't take his atenolol because he didn't like the way it made him feel... because his body was in total shock to have a BP of 140/90... you don't like the way that makes you feel? Will you enjoy dropping dead of a stroke?! JUST SAYIN IS ALL!!!!! ahhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

btw, it is ALWAYS acceptable to step into the back stairs and stomp your feet and yell like a wild woman to drop the frustration, HOWEVER, do not punch the wall... patients WILL ask what happened to your knuckles =/

LMAO. I have worked on an ambulance for the past 4 years.... and i have been to places... yuck. thats all i can say. little trailers with kerosene heaters and all the windows closed with 6 people chain smoking and the pt with COPD calls 911 because they cant breathe. Guess what-- when we get them out the door they can magically breathe again. Common sense is really lacking in our world.
Did you read the article in American Journal of Nursing about the diabetic who came in with a super high BS and when the nurse asked him why he didnt take his insulin he said it was because he didnt have any oranges? She asked why he needed an orange and he said to inject---- the nurse who showed him how to administer insulin had hi draw it up and inject it in an orange for practice...never had him do it on himself LOL

I think I may have just peed on myself laughing! And people wonder why I use the word dumb... *jeopardy music plays in the background*

DreamLittleDarling

hate it when nurses and doctors are over weight....not a good example!......
u.s doctors are the worse....they like to pump $$ out of sick people doing stupid test that never lead to anything...
especially teaching hospitals, this happen to my mom she had to go to her country el salvador to find out she had kidney problem get cured twice cuz u.s docs are...mmm stupid??....she would have died here.... maybe mcds is handing out degrees! ..and it cost way less than here, along the way my dad lost our house because of medical bills that lead to NOTHING!!!!!!............my rant done!!....

I quoted this as an example, though there are similar posts in this thread. Way too many people in the general public like to throw all doctors into one and make crazy assumptions, and this is part of what the OP was complaining about. It's no different than categorizing all teachers, overweight people, or black or Latin Americans as the same. People are NOT the same, and doctors and nurses are people too. Doctors do NOT make money doing tests, especially not in teaching hospitals. We don't make money from prescriptions either. There are all kinds of crazy rumors being spread about doctors that are not true. It's ignorant to go running around repeating something when you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.

It pisses me off cause I worked hard in medical school, and I work hard long hours trying to keep my patients safe and figure out what's wrong with them. I work at a county hospital where most have no insurance so every test or medication I order is coming out of my taxes, not the patient's pocketbook. I spend my precious time explaining to a patient what's wrong with them and give them a treatment only to be ignored and have them come back sicker because of it. There is also the constant threat of lawsuits unlike in any other country.

And by the way, I see a lot of sick people who didn't have a diagnosis despite going to several doctors but I diagnosed them. Was it because their doctor was a money-grubbing idiot with a degree from mcDs? No! Mistakes happen, but most of the time it is because as the body evolves into the disease state the diagnosis becomes more obvious and the diagnostic tests start to come back positive.

I will never generalize like so many are happy to do, but I will say that the vast majority of doctors and nurses are well-educated and doing what we're doing out of passion and concern for their patients

Completely fair...You are right, it is unfair to judge or lump every Dr. into the same pile. Like every other profession there are good and bad. However, and I am just asking....The very first rant here, which was to each their own for the record, however wasn't that generalizing that if you are not a Dr. or a nurse you know nothing without professional opinion?and you are stupid to self diagnose? I am just wondering and could be wrong...For your post though absolutely fair.

You know what... if you are NOT a health care worker, have had no proper training in medicine at all, you absolutely, should NEVER NEVER NEVER self diagnose.
Let me make sure I said that clearly... DO NOT SELF DIAGNOSE.
I will not self diagnose and I am a nurse and have been for 5 years. Why? Because I am not a doctor and that degree on my wall does NOT say MD.

NO ONE SHOULD EVER SELF DIAGNOSE. EVER.

Is that clear enough?

I am not being rude, or insulting, it is simply NOT safe to self diagnose!

humblemonkey

Maybe you should read ALL of the posts that I made in this topic... I'm pretty sure it's quite obvious that I don't believe in sugar coating anything... sugar coated advice has NEVER saved a life or made a difference. Truth is hard and matter of fact, and the only way to tell the truth is to tell it like it is. If someone is offended by what I had to say.... then maybe they should talk to my grandmother who once told me "If the truth hurts, change it!"
[/quote]


No, you are just rude and hateful and think that since tou gace advice you can act that way. You are the reason people dont go to the doctors because the nurses are RUDE!
[/quote]

HAHAHAHAHAHA no, actually nurses are NOT rude. nurses are honest. if you come in and say...well i know i was supposed to change this dressing on my foot where my diabetic ulcers are, but i could bare the pain...and i take the dressing off and there is gangrenous tissue....im not gonna say "oh, honey its ok. i understand." im going to say "Well, obviously, that was a poor choice because now you have the possiblity of losing your foot. We will do everything we can to fix this problem, but if you could not change your dressing you should have sought help from your physician to ensure something like this didnt happen."

am i being rude?? NO! im being freakin honest and telling you how it is. im telling you the possibile outcomes of your actions and im telling you we might not be able to fix it. would you rather me say "oh, dont worry it will all be ok." and then you wake up after we snow you, take you to surgery, and have to amputate your foot and notice youre missing a foot? SURPRISE!! good lord, this response is just agrivating and AHH! kjsdfhkjrfhzsjbfjds

TDGee

OMG, I love to read Nurse rants!

A few things I've learned in my (incoherent mumbling) years in Nursing:

It's not MY emergency. People seek medical attention because what they have been trying at home didn't work so well.

I can provide the education and information, but I may not be able to get through to you. (specifically referring to noncompliant behaviors. i.e... smoking, drinking, drugs, medications, diet, exercise...)

Medical science is wonderful, but it can't always save everyone.

Healthcare Professionals are people too. Some good, some bad, some fantastic and sharp, others, not so much there's lots of variety.
What do you call someone who graduates at the top of their class? Valedectorian.
What do you call someone who graduates at the bottom of their class in Medical School? Doctor.
The good ones didn't go into healthcare for the money.

I have more, but I think I've made my point. I do love a good rant! Thank you!!!

humblemonkey

:drinker: Awesome rant--from what I have seen, TOTALLY deserved, and hopefully someone who needs it will actually read it and use the information!! :flowerforyou: Kudos for speaking your mind...I see people I love not taking meds because they just don't like what they read about the side affects, or it makes their head dizzy--- CALL THE DR-- Stop trying to Dr yourself... especially the diabetes and heart meds. Sheesh. Some people....:noway:

pardon my...bluntness but.. SCREW SIDE EFFECTS. if 2% of the people in trial suffered from something while taking the med it goes on there under SEs....its DUMB. every med cause "GI upset, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and possible death." because guess what? the medication company wants to cover their *kitten* in case in some rare instance your body has a reaction to the med and you suffer from one of these. honestly though, most people take the med and the only "side effect" is that they get better. imagineeee that!

not a rant on you, just quoted your post because it referenced my point. LOL

DreamLittleDarling

:drinker: Awesome rant--from what I have seen, TOTALLY deserved, and hopefully someone who needs it will actually read it and use the information!! :flowerforyou: Kudos for speaking your mind...I see people I love not taking meds because they just don't like what they read about the side affects, or it makes their head dizzy--- CALL THE DR-- Stop trying to Dr yourself... especially the diabetes and heart meds. Sheesh. Some people....:noway:

pardon my...bluntness but.. SCREW SIDE EFFECTS. if 2% of the people in trial suffered from something while taking the med it goes on there under SEs....its DUMB. every med cause "GI upset, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and possible death." because guess what? the medication company wants to cover their *kitten* in case in some rare instance your body has a reaction to the med and you suffer from one of these. honestly though, most people take the med and the only "side effect" is that they get better. imagineeee that!

not a rant on you, just quoted your post because it referenced my point. LOL

after reading ALL of your posts, I have come to this conclusion... you ARE me. I am you. We share a brain.

jmhigg1020

I have my own two cents to throw in here as well - there are so many diagnoses, like PCOS, that isn't diagnosed for many reasons - the symptoms present differently in each patient, and many women don't go to the doctor to ge things checked out, so the docs may not be looking for it. Also, symptoms are every bit as important as lab tests - there are plenty of symptoms that are too embarrassing to discuss for some, but without them, a wrong diagnosis can be delivered. People look at someone who is overweight and assume that they are lazy - if you looked at me, you'd never know that I can do push-ups like a guy, box, and complete an Insanity DVD. I also have normal blood sugar, normal BP, and I eat within my calories (for the most part, everyone gets wiggle room on that one!). I, however, have PCOS, so I have major difficulty losing weight, and just by looking at me, things appear very different than they actually are.

For the doctors and nurses who gained weight in school - lack of sleep alone can cause that, and we know how little sleep they get for the first 80 years of their education. (LOL!) I think that looking to doctors and nurses for guidance is one thing, putting them on pedestals like they can do no wrong is completely different. My OBGYN wasn't convinced that I had PCOS and didn't want to order some of the labwork - he felt as if the endo I had chosen could do a more thorough job and connect the dots further because my case wasn't classic (if there can be such a thing). I had a great deal of respect for him because he was totally OK with my pushing for more info and following up with the endo. I have been put on the medication I need to reverse symptoms, and even though I take almost 30 pills a day to teach my body what to do, I do it because the docs and nurses know better than I do about all of this. I researched and raised plenty of questions, but I left the medicine to the professionals. I go to my follow up appointments and discuss all of the crazy things that happen to me, and these nurses are the kindest ever - you can tell the ones who are going to be more blunt, but since they are there to help me save my life, I'm OK with that!!!!! Those same blunt nurses are also the most compassionate after you have lost a baby or have such embarrassing symptoms that you can't hardly talk about it......

humblemonkey

:drinker: Awesome rant--from what I have seen, TOTALLY deserved, and hopefully someone who needs it will actually read it and use the information!! :flowerforyou: Kudos for speaking your mind...I see people I love not taking meds because they just don't like what they read about the side affects, or it makes their head dizzy--- CALL THE DR-- Stop trying to Dr yourself... especially the diabetes and heart meds. Sheesh. Some people....:noway:

pardon my...bluntness but.. SCREW SIDE EFFECTS. if 2% of the people in trial suffered from something while taking the med it goes on there under SEs....its DUMB. every med cause "GI upset, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and possible death." because guess what? the medication company wants to cover their *kitten* in case in some rare instance your body has a reaction to the med and you suffer from one of these. honestly though, most people take the med and the only "side effect" is that they get better. imagineeee that!

not a rant on you, just quoted your post because it referenced my point. LOL

after reading ALL of your posts, I have come to this conclusion... you ARE me. I am you. We share a brain.

lol i think being on the ambulance before becoming a nurse has tainted me a bit...i have SO much compassion for my patients...and treat them all with dignity and respect..BUT i do tell them how it is. haha if we didnt do that as nurses, or ANY health care provider for that matter, then the person will end up like the orange injecter. i personally do not want to be the nurse repsonsible for that hahaha:drinker:

sbwood888

You go nurse. You have an awesome bedside manner. :noway:

humblemonkey

I have my own two cents to throw in here as well - there are so many diagnoses, like PCOS, that isn't diagnosed for many reasons - the symptoms present differently in each patient, and many women don't go to the doctor to ge things checked out, so the docs may not be looking for it. Also, symptoms are every bit as important as lab tests - there are plenty of symptoms that are too embarrassing to discuss for some, but without them, a wrong diagnosis can be delivered. People look at someone who is overweight and assume that they are lazy - if you looked at me, you'd never know that I can do push-ups like a guy, box, and complete an Insanity DVD. I also have normal blood sugar, normal BP, and I eat within my calories (for the most part, everyone gets wiggle room on that one!). I, however, have PCOS, so I have major difficulty losing weight, and just by looking at me, things appear very different than they actually are.

For the doctors and nurses who gained weight in school - lack of sleep alone can cause that, and we know how little sleep they get for the first 80 years of their education. (LOL!) I think that looking to doctors and nurses for guidance is one thing, putting them on pedestals like they can do no wrong is completely different. My OBGYN wasn't convinced that I had PCOS and didn't want to order some of the labwork - he felt as if the endo I had chosen could do a more thorough job and connect the dots further because my case wasn't classic (if there can be such a thing). I had a great deal of respect for him because he was totally OK with my pushing for more info and following up with the endo. I have been put on the medication I need to reverse symptoms, and even though I take almost 30 pills a day to teach my body what to do, I do it because the docs and nurses know better than I do about all of this. I researched and raised plenty of questions, but I left the medicine to the professionals. I go to my follow up appointments and discuss all of the crazy things that happen to me, and these nurses are the kindest ever - you can tell the ones who are going to be more blunt, but since they are there to help me save my life, I'm OK with that!!!!! Those same blunt nurses are also the most compassionate after you have lost a baby or have such embarrassing symptoms that you can't hardly talk about it......

oh please come to work with me and be my patient. HAHA i wish every patient i saw asked questions when they didnt understand, researched things if they were unsure of it, and came back with even more questions! and ya know what-- as doctors, nurses, whatever...were ALWAYS learning. we will never be able to know every single disease out there front to back and how it can affect every single person because as you said, things present different in different people. this is another reason going to more than 1 doctor is helpful-- doctors ARE human and they may miss something that maybe another doctor can see..or maybe one doctor has more experience with something.

DreamLittleDarling

I have my own two cents to throw in here as well - there are so many diagnoses, like PCOS, that isn't diagnosed for many reasons - the symptoms present differently in each patient, and many women don't go to the doctor to ge things checked out, so the docs may not be looking for it. Also, symptoms are every bit as important as lab tests - there are plenty of symptoms that are too embarrassing to discuss for some, but without them, a wrong diagnosis can be delivered. People look at someone who is overweight and assume that they are lazy - if you looked at me, you'd never know that I can do push-ups like a guy, box, and complete an Insanity DVD. I also have normal blood sugar, normal BP, and I eat within my calories (for the most part, everyone gets wiggle room on that one!). I, however, have PCOS, so I have major difficulty losing weight, and just by looking at me, things appear very different than they actually are.

For the doctors and nurses who gained weight in school - lack of sleep alone can cause that, and we know how little sleep they get for the first 80 years of their education. (LOL!) I think that looking to doctors and nurses for guidance is one thing, putting them on pedestals like they can do no wrong is completely different. My OBGYN wasn't convinced that I had PCOS and didn't want to order some of the labwork - he felt as if the endo I had chosen could do a more thorough job and connect the dots further because my case wasn't classic (if there can be such a thing). I had a great deal of respect for him because he was totally OK with my pushing for more info and following up with the endo. I have been put on the medication I need to reverse symptoms, and even though I take almost 30 pills a day to teach my body what to do, I do it because the docs and nurses know better than I do about all of this. I researched and raised plenty of questions, but I left the medicine to the professionals. I go to my follow up appointments and discuss all of the crazy things that happen to me, and these nurses are the kindest ever - you can tell the ones who are going to be more blunt, but since they are there to help me save my life, I'm OK with that!!!!! Those same blunt nurses are also the most compassionate after you have lost a baby or have such embarrassing symptoms that you can't hardly talk about it......

Thank you! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

I can honestly say I started nursing school quiet, shy, and ridiculously polite. I got ran all over by the nurses I worked with when doing clinicals, doctors walked right past me as if I wasn't there (not because they were rude, but because they are busy and if you need their attention for something, you damn well better GRAB it), and patients really blew me off.

One day, in clinicals, I had a particularly difficult pt. He was in for diabetic ketoacidosis, refused to take a bath and stunk to high heaven, and was just RUDE to me and EVERY one he encountered, including the doctors. By the end of that day I was in tears because I just didn't know what to do.
On the 2nd day of caring for him, during my lunch break I caught him in the cafeteria eating apple cobbler. That was IT! I stormed over to his table, yanked the fork out of his hand, and asked him if he wanted to die? He stared at me with a blank expression on his face, then looked REALLY angry and I started to panic. But then something amazing happened! He THANKED ME. He cried and said thank you!
From then on out he was cooperative, he ASKED for further diabetic teaching and ASKED for a nutritionist consult. He also came to my graduation and we STILL keep in contact. And his last HA1C was 8.1

jmhigg1020

I have my own two cents to throw in here as well - there are so many diagnoses, like PCOS, that isn't diagnosed for many reasons - the symptoms present differently in each patient, and many women don't go to the doctor to ge things checked out, so the docs may not be looking for it. Also, symptoms are every bit as important as lab tests - there are plenty of symptoms that are too embarrassing to discuss for some, but without them, a wrong diagnosis can be delivered. People look at someone who is overweight and assume that they are lazy - if you looked at me, you'd never know that I can do push-ups like a guy, box, and complete an Insanity DVD. I also have normal blood sugar, normal BP, and I eat within my calories (for the most part, everyone gets wiggle room on that one!). I, however, have PCOS, so I have major difficulty losing weight, and just by looking at me, things appear very different than they actually are.

For the doctors and nurses who gained weight in school - lack of sleep alone can cause that, and we know how little sleep they get for the first 80 years of their education. (LOL!) I think that looking to doctors and nurses for guidance is one thing, putting them on pedestals like they can do no wrong is completely different. My OBGYN wasn't convinced that I had PCOS and didn't want to order some of the labwork - he felt as if the endo I had chosen could do a more thorough job and connect the dots further because my case wasn't classic (if there can be such a thing). I had a great deal of respect for him because he was totally OK with my pushing for more info and following up with the endo. I have been put on the medication I need to reverse symptoms, and even though I take almost 30 pills a day to teach my body what to do, I do it because the docs and nurses know better than I do about all of this. I researched and raised plenty of questions, but I left the medicine to the professionals. I go to my follow up appointments and discuss all of the crazy things that happen to me, and these nurses are the kindest ever - you can tell the ones who are going to be more blunt, but since they are there to help me save my life, I'm OK with that!!!!! Those same blunt nurses are also the most compassionate after you have lost a baby or have such embarrassing symptoms that you can't hardly talk about it......

oh please come to work with me and be my patient. HAHA i wish every patient i saw asked questions when they didnt understand, researched things if they were unsure of it, and came back with even more questions! and ya know what-- as doctors, nurses, whatever...were ALWAYS learning. we will never be able to know every single disease out there front to back and how it can affect every single person because as you said, things present different in different people. this is another reason going to more than 1 doctor is helpful-- doctors ARE human and they may miss something that maybe another doctor can see..or maybe one doctor has more experience with something.

I happen to work in early intervention, so seeing kiddos under three with delays and disabilities is similar in that each one is going to look different, and each child will respond to different activities and strategies. I'm just grateful that we don't have many parents who treat us the way you are treated - they are grateful for the info and the trial-and-error process, and patients should have the same compassion and gratitude. I was going to go to med school and switched to this field instead. I have a lot of medical background and knowledge, but I don't ever assume that I know more than the doctors and nurses. I have huge respect for your training and education, but I also take responsibility for asking the questions and fessing up to the crazy!!!

jmhigg1020

I have my own two cents to throw in here as well - there are so many diagnoses, like PCOS, that isn't diagnosed for many reasons - the symptoms present differently in each patient, and many women don't go to the doctor to ge things checked out, so the docs may not be looking for it. Also, symptoms are every bit as important as lab tests - there are plenty of symptoms that are too embarrassing to discuss for some, but without them, a wrong diagnosis can be delivered. People look at someone who is overweight and assume that they are lazy - if you looked at me, you'd never know that I can do push-ups like a guy, box, and complete an Insanity DVD. I also have normal blood sugar, normal BP, and I eat within my calories (for the most part, everyone gets wiggle room on that one!). I, however, have PCOS, so I have major difficulty losing weight, and just by looking at me, things appear very different than they actually are.

For the doctors and nurses who gained weight in school - lack of sleep alone can cause that, and we know how little sleep they get for the first 80 years of their education. (LOL!) I think that looking to doctors and nurses for guidance is one thing, putting them on pedestals like they can do no wrong is completely different. My OBGYN wasn't convinced that I had PCOS and didn't want to order some of the labwork - he felt as if the endo I had chosen could do a more thorough job and connect the dots further because my case wasn't classic (if there can be such a thing). I had a great deal of respect for him because he was totally OK with my pushing for more info and following up with the endo. I have been put on the medication I need to reverse symptoms, and even though I take almost 30 pills a day to teach my body what to do, I do it because the docs and nurses know better than I do about all of this. I researched and raised plenty of questions, but I left the medicine to the professionals. I go to my follow up appointments and discuss all of the crazy things that happen to me, and these nurses are the kindest ever - you can tell the ones who are going to be more blunt, but since they are there to help me save my life, I'm OK with that!!!!! Those same blunt nurses are also the most compassionate after you have lost a baby or have such embarrassing symptoms that you can't hardly talk about it......

Thank you! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

I can honestly say I started nursing school quiet, shy, and ridiculously polite. I got ran all over by the nurses I worked with when doing clinicals, doctors walked right past me as if I wasn't there (not because they were rude, but because they are busy and if you need their attention for something, you damn well better GRAB it), and patients really blew me off.

One day, in clinicals, I had a particularly difficult pt. He was in for diabetic ketoacidosis, refused to take a bath and stunk to high heaven, and was just RUDE to me and EVERY one he encountered, including the doctors. By the end of that day I was in tears because I just didn't know what to do.
On the 2nd day of caring for him, during my lunch break I caught him in the cafeteria eating apple cobbler. That was IT! I stormed over to his table, yanked the fork out of his hand, and asked him if he wanted to die? He stared at me with a blank expression on his face, then looked REALLY angry and I started to panic. But then something amazing happened! He THANKED ME. He cried and said thank you!
From then on out he was cooperative, he ASKED for further diabetic teaching and ASKED for a nutritionist consult. He also came to my graduation and we STILL keep in contact. And his last HA1C was 8.1

....and if that was the only patient you saved that day, you saved one!!!! Good numbers, too! LOL! Nicely done, and way to get through to someone who probably couldn't be reached because no one had the guts to do it!

Angel1066

I totally agree with you

Kjarlune

OMG, I love to read Nurse rants!

A few things I've learned in my (incoherent mumbling) years in Nursing:

It's not MY emergency. People seek medical attention because what they have been trying at home didn't work so well.

I can provide the education and information, but I may not be able to get through to you. (specifically referring to noncompliant behaviors. i.e... smoking, drinking, drugs, medications, diet, exercise...)

Medical science is wonderful, but it can't always save everyone.

Healthcare Professionals are people too. Some good, some bad, some fantastic and sharp, others, not so much there's lots of variety.
What do you call someone who graduates at the top of their class? Valedectorian.
What do you call someone who graduates at the bottom of their class in Medical School? Doctor.
The good ones didn't go into healthcare for the money.

I have more, but I think I've made my point. I do love a good rant! Thank you!!!

Awesome.....

swiftgirls2

Very good points! I agree. I have a Facebook friend who is doing Weight Watchers and is a diabetic, but posts that he is at Krispy Kreme having donuts. I am like seriously!!!???! He uses the excuse that at Weight Watchers you can eat whatever you want within your points. But, if you are a diabetic and trying to lose weight you should NOT be eating at Krispy Kreme.