Thoughts on the L&D nurse “ick” tiktok

[Anonymous]

Four nurses at Emory were fired after making a TikTok of their “icks” which include patients who don’t want an epidural despite reporting high pain, and family members who come to the nurses station instead of using the call button.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna61114

I found the video triggering because I had a traumatic birth (can’t even describe here because it will immediately identify me if someone from the hospital saw it) and a part of that trauma was feeling like the nurses and staff at the hospital were judging me and talking about me. I felt like I had screwed up (I had not, they were severely understaffed and that’s what caused the issue). Literally until we left the hospital, I felt like they were looking at me weird. Obviously compounded by hormones and pain medication.

Not everything they say is that bad but to me it’s just terrible form to discuss your patients in this way. Giving birth is such a vulnerable experience. I also feel like you would never see something like this from medical staff about other patients. The nurses in the pediatric wing or the cancer ward or even the ER (where crazy stuff goes down), I don’t think would go this because I think it’s really impressed upon them that their patients deserve grace, or at least not to have their challenges joked about online. I think these nurses thought this was okay because pregnant women and new moms are viewed as fair game. There’s some inherent misogyny at play which makes this extra gross coming from a bunch of women.

[Anonymous]

Okay? Sounds like you may need to work through the issues surrounding your traumatic birth (which no one asked you to describe here) and avoid social media about nurses and L&D. Seems easy enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Four nurses at Emory were fired after making a TikTok of their “icks” which include patients who don’t want an epidural despite reporting high pain, and family members who come to the nurses station instead of using the call button.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna61114

I found the video triggering because I had a traumatic birth (can’t even describe here because it will immediately identify me if someone from the hospital saw it) and a part of that trauma was feeling like the nurses and staff at the hospital were judging me and talking about me. I felt like I had screwed up (I had not, they were severely understaffed and that’s what caused the issue). Literally until we left the hospital, I felt like they were looking at me weird. Obviously compounded by hormones and pain medication.

Not everything they say is that bad but to me it’s just terrible form to discuss your patients in this way. Giving birth is such a vulnerable experience. I also feel like you would never see something like this from medical staff about other patients. The nurses in the pediatric wing or the cancer ward or even the ER (where crazy stuff goes down), I don’t think would go this because I think it’s really impressed upon them that their patients deserve grace, or at least not to have their challenges joked about online. I think these nurses thought this was okay because pregnant women and new moms are viewed as fair game. There’s some inherent misogyny at play which makes this extra gross coming from a bunch of women.

I think it's a terrivble thing that they did this, and I'm sorry it's triggering for you.

As someone who has spent a total of about a year at a child's bedside in the hospital. I think that being jealous of parents in pediatric units, or making assumptions that nothing bad happens there is in really bad taste.

[Anonymous]

Those nurses are skummy and unprofessional and should be fired. Someone in the clinical job I am very embarrassed for them.

[Anonymous]

^ “As someone…”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Four nurses at Emory were fired after making a TikTok of their “icks” which include patients who don’t want an epidural despite reporting high pain, and family members who come to the nurses station instead of using the call button.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna61114

I found the video triggering because I had a traumatic birth (can’t even describe here because it will immediately identify me if someone from the hospital saw it) and a part of that trauma was feeling like the nurses and staff at the hospital were judging me and talking about me. I felt like I had screwed up (I had not, they were severely understaffed and that’s what caused the issue). Literally until we left the hospital, I felt like they were looking at me weird. Obviously compounded by hormones and pain medication.

Not everything they say is that bad but to me it’s just terrible form to discuss your patients in this way. Giving birth is such a vulnerable experience. I also feel like you would never see something like this from medical staff about other patients. The nurses in the pediatric wing or the cancer ward or even the ER (where crazy stuff goes down), I don’t think would go this because I think it’s really impressed upon them that their patients deserve grace, or at least not to have their challenges joked about online. I think these nurses thought this was okay because pregnant women and new moms are viewed as fair game. There’s some inherent misogyny at play which makes this extra gross coming from a bunch of women.

I think it's a terrivble thing that they did this, and I'm sorry it's triggering for you.

As someone who has spent a total of about a year at a child's bedside in the hospital. I think that being jealous of parents in pediatric units, or making assumptions that nothing bad happens there is in really bad taste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those nurses are skummy and unprofessional and should be fired. Someone in the clinical job I am very embarrassed for them.

They have been fired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those nurses are skummy and unprofessional and should be fired. Someone in the clinical job I am very embarrassed for them.

They have been fired.

Good. Hope they aren’t easily rehired.

[Anonymous]

There’s probably a larger point here about a geenration in which many people think the way to process your feelings is to put it out there publicly. I hope the nursing and medical schools adjust their curriculum to explain to students why this isn’t okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Four nurses at Emory were fired after making a TikTok of their “icks” which include patients who don’t want an epidural despite reporting high pain, and family members who come to the nurses station instead of using the call button.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna61114

I found the video triggering because I had a traumatic birth (can’t even describe here because it will immediately identify me if someone from the hospital saw it) and a part of that trauma was feeling like the nurses and staff at the hospital were judging me and talking about me. I felt like I had screwed up (I had not, they were severely understaffed and that’s what caused the issue). Literally until we left the hospital, I felt like they were looking at me weird. Obviously compounded by hormones and pain medication.

Not everything they say is that bad but to me it’s just terrible form to discuss your patients in this way. Giving birth is such a vulnerable experience. I also feel like you would never see something like this from medical staff about other patients. The nurses in the pediatric wing or the cancer ward or even the ER (where crazy stuff goes down), I don’t think would go this because I think it’s really impressed upon them that their patients deserve grace, or at least not to have their challenges joked about online. I think these nurses thought this was okay because pregnant women and new moms are viewed as fair game. There’s some inherent misogyny at play which makes this extra gross coming from a bunch of women.

I think it's a terrivble thing that they did this, and I'm sorry it's triggering for you.

As someone who has spent a total of about a year at a child's bedside in the hospital. I think that being jealous of parents in pediatric units, or making assumptions that nothing bad happens there is in really bad taste.

Where did anyone assume nothing bad happens on pediatric wards? No one said that and I think everyone knows that pediatric wards deal with serious concerns and any patient there deserves empathy.

The point is that patients in L&D deserve the same. All patients do.

[Anonymous]

They suck and I’m glad they were fired.

Here are my icks as a labor and delivery nurse

Husbands playing on their phone while their wife is laboring through painful contractions
Husbands joking about the husband stitch
Husbands complaining about being hungry
MILs (or mothers) bullying their way into the L&D room and husbands not standing up for their wife
Husbands complaining that they’re cold while watching us and his laboring wife sweat our asses off, or in the operating room

And my ickiest ick—husbands who are too interested in what’s going on down their or even visibly aroused

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay? Sounds like you may need to work through the issues surrounding your traumatic birth (which no one asked you to describe here) and avoid social media about nurses and L&D. Seems easy enough.

I think you missed the point. Any patient could experience the same, which is why it is in poor taste to post a video like this. Working in a hospital us not like working at Starbucks. It’s not a job where you can go online and say “lol here’s some dumb stuff I dealt with today.”

[Anonymous]

I’m in a similar job (not medical) and I feel burdened by not being able to share anything with anyone ever. There used to be camaraderie at work but not so much anymore. I don’t think I can’t share anything with anyone other than Dh. The public is always out there waiting to see mistakes.

That being said I can’t STAND these ticktoks. They present themselves as universal thoughts but they’re not. “Things not to say to moms of newborns” “things not to do in labor” no! We all have different experiences. Fwiw labor and delivery nurses were wonderful with my 3. Postpartum care gets an F-

[Anonymous]

I completely agree OP. The way pregnant and postpartum and particularly women IN LABOR are treated is terrible.

[Anonymous]

They shouldn’t have made the tik tok, obviously, but I don’t care if the L&D nurses make fun of me in the break room. They took great care of me and it’s a very hard job. People need humor and some of you need to toughen up. Laughing or complaining about an anonymous patient later is not a big deal.