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SIBLEY MATERNITY NURSES SUCK! SIBLEY ISN'T THE ROLLS ROYCE OF HOSPITALS.............
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escrappy05@yahoo.com
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I gave birth at Sibley on Friday, March 28. The birth was a scheduled C-section and I chose Sibley based on friend's recommendations and the fact that my wonderful OB (Dr. Janet Schaffel) delivers there. I went to for the maternity tour, which was a waste of time and must admit the hospital looked nice during the tour. I want to point out that this is a critique of the nursing staff in the maternity ward only, the labor and delivery staff was professional, compassionate and very knowledgeable. However, the maternity staff with the exception of two nurses was a disaster.
The nursing staff, especially the night shift, was rude and completely unhelpful. The attitude of some of the nurses was a sense of entitlement and that they were there to do me a favor when in fact they have their jobs because "we" are delivering our babies there. The night following my c-section (5 am) a nurse came in to take my vitals and to help me breastfeed. This particular nurse did not appear to have a whole lot of experience taking blood pressure and the basics. Another nasty nurse came in, looked at my baby and said, "he's choking" Well, you can imagine that i almost lost it at that point. i yelled for someone to help and another nurse came in, aspirated some fluid from his mouth and said the baby was fine. How could this idiot nurse say something so critical and so wrong to a new mother or to any mother for that matter. Even though I wanted and requested a single room, there were none available and i was put in a double. I figured I would be fine for a night. Well, I was wrong. I was put in my double room at about 11 am following the c-section. The patient next to me had a parade of visitors all day long (which is understandable, but a little inconsiderate of the roommate). Even though the visitors were loud, I could share in their excitement. My roommate left or was moved to another room around 7 pm. Based on what we had been told during the hospital tour, if there was not another patient, my husband could spend the night. A nurse on the shift told us that was not the policy and that my husband would have to leave by the time visiting hours were over (8:30), but that he could stay a little longer if there was no new patient in the room. Around 9:30 pm a new patient was brought into the room. My husband left as per the nurse's instructions and I tried to get some sleep. Again, there was much excitement in the room and the other patient's nurse told her that her visitors could only stay for a little while and then had to go. At around 11 pm, there were still people visiting, talking loudly and the light on. Then the roommate's nurse came in, I asked her when the visitors would be leaving since it was way past visiting hours and she told me in a rude voice that she would call my nurse and that the new father could stay all night. When my nurse came in, I asked her what the policy was given what we had been told earlier that night. I asked to see a supervisor and 20 minutes later one arrived and when I asked her about the discrepancy in the policy, she told me that fathers could stay all night. I was very upset by this given the fact that my husband couldn't stay and that there were clearly more people with the roommate than the father. The supervisor told me that was the policy and if i didn't like it, I should contact the administration. HOW RUDE! I asked the nurse to have the visitors keep their voices down and turn down the lights. Finally, about 12:30 everyone left. I know people are excited about their new babies, but what happened to respect for others? (I'm diverging and this is about the nurses). The following day i was put into a private room (totally worth the money if you can afford it). My husband stayed over and unfortunately we didn't get any sleep because we had the baby in the room the whole night (big mistake! the nurses will bring the baby in for feedings during the night and that guarantees you some sleep). The following morning, we asked the nurse to please put the baby in the nursery because we had to get some sleep and she told me that they really only did that night because they wanted the babies and moms to bond during the day. I found that answer really strange and asked that she please take the baby to the nursery at least for two hours. I don't feel that a patient should have to beg to get a basic need met which apparently was the situation here. She did it anyway (we must have looked exhausted) and the following day was better. That night, however, I had to call the nurse 4x to pick up the baby to take him to the nursery. I can't imagine that much is going on at 2 am so I fail to see what took so long. Asking for anything was responded to with an overall attitude of inconvenience for the nurses. I think most of the nurses at Sibley forgot what nursing is all about or really hate their jobs. Quite frankly, Sibley needs to reassess and reevaluate their staff. What probably once was a great hospital and staff, now is a mediocre, inconveniently located run of the mill hospital. I am thankful for nurses like Ryan and Jaylen who were professional and compassionate. The rest should go work at McDonalds or some other place where rudeness is expected! I left Sibley a day early just to get away from the horrible care. I am so glad I did! One other thing, the lactation consultants were good overall, but the advice was not so good. My baby had latching on problems and while they helped me get through that, they did not properly asses the condition of my breasts which after being seen by my pediatrician's (Dr. Lang -- so far so good!) lactation consultant the day after i was released from sibley and just 24 hours after sibley's lactation consultant saw me, said "Oh my god, keep the baby away from your nipple for at least 24 hours." My nipples, one in particular, was so cracked and raw that she was shocked when she saw it. My breasts had been very tender and raw, but I just thought that was part of the process. Glad to find out I was wrong. By the way, if you are thinking of breast feeding, consult a lactation consultant BEFORE you give birth, not after. That way you will have a better idea of what to expect. I felt so strongly about writing this even though I've only been home for a week. Just be really careful when selecting hospitals!!! All the best! |
Anonymous
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Wow, sorry to hear about your experience with the nursing staff. I delivered at Sibley a year ago and plan to again in about 4 weeks. The daytime nurses I encountered were all great, except for one. As with your experience, it was as if she had never dealt with a first-time mother: she was brusque, demanding, and disregarded anything I said. She also would not let me hold my baby, who was otherwise just sitting across the room in the bassinette, neglected. I was infuriated. I also felt that the nurses on the night shift were generally inferior to those during the day, though I did not have any major issues.
Anyway, your story will motivate me to stay on my toes during my stay there and to do what I can to get the most out of the staff. Thanks! |
Anonymous
| I had the opposite experience at Sibley. We did stay in a private room however, right after my c-section, so I didn't have to deal with a roommate. We had our baby go to the nursery at night, they don't keep babies in the nursery during the day. We decided at the last minute the first night after our son was born to have him go the nursery, I didn't have to wait...and they brought him to me to the next morning at 7am. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience! Mine was lovely. |
Anonymous
| Wow, you sound really angry, I'm very sorry you had such a bad time. I had the polar opposite experience after a c-section at Sibley last year, everyone was truly wonderful and did their best to accommodate our wishes despite the fact that the maternity ward was overcrowded. I guess it must be the luck of the draw in terms of the nurses you get. Congratulations on you baby, I'm sure you are so happy to be home with him/her! |
Anonymous
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I know where you're coming from. I had a similar experience last year when I was in a shared room. However, as soon as I was able to get a single, the care improved vastly. I also do not know why Sibley has such a reputation, but they obviously are riding on this reputation and not doing much to earn it these days.
In their defense, you were there on a CRAZY weekend. I know someone who was scheduled to have a c-section on the 28th as well. She showed up, only to have it pushed to the 29th. She showed up again, and it was pushed to the 30th. I know someone else who had a baby on the 28th and spent a day in the L&D room because they didnt' have any other rooms available. They were bursting at the seams. BUt, once you are there, they should have a basic standard of care for all patients. THe nurses are not as professional as they should be. Obviously the nursing shortage is real - they just can't get rid of the bad ones because there is nobody to replace them... |
Anonymous
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Dear Anonymous (not sure if you are one or more anonymous writers)
Thanks for your replies. I honestly would rather deliver in a jungle than go back to Sibley. I wish you luck on your delivery the second time around. As for being angry, you are right. I am angry that the basic patient rights that we are all entitled to and the basic human kindness is almost completely missing at Sibley. I lived abroad for three years in a supposed third-world country (Colombia) and had to have some surgery. The nurses, the staff, the volunteers, the doctors were all amazing. There was a level of professionalism and bed side manner that "our professionals" here in the US have completely forgotten. After my surgery in Colombia, the doctor came to my house personally to see how I was doing. When was the last time you ever heard of that in the US? Either way, good luck! I am completely in love with my son and just happy to be home. However, had I known the Sibley reality, I would have picked another hospital. I plan to write to the administration so that they know what is going on. I told my doctor and she was not happy about it, but also told me that the weekend staff is usually not as good as the weekday staff. So, I guess the solution if you are going to have a baby at Sibley, don't do it on the weekend! 
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Anonymous
| OP- I'm sorry you had such a tough time with nurses and care following your delivery (congratulations by the way!). I delivered at Sibley in August 2007 and I would agree that the nurses are hit or miss. In general, I found the night shift nurses (both L&D and maternity) to be FAR WORSE than the day time nurses. |
Anonymous
| I had my daughter at Sibley 2 years ago and I really appreciated the professionalism of all the staff. Maybe there was an abundance of deliveries the night you delivered so a private room was not available. When the fetus heart monitor was abnormal (which I wasn't aware of at the time) the whole staff that was sitting outside the delivery room (3-4 nurses & doctors) rushed in. |
Anonymous
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I am sorry you had a such a terrible time. I wasn't there and don't know these nurses, but there are likely a couple of reasons for some, but not all of the bad nursing care you got. I work for a nurses' union and staffing problems (having too many patients to care for) is the number one problem for RNs--and the reason why so many leave bedside nursing. I have met nurses who have handled incredible patient loads.
If the hospital was particularly busy or if the hospital does not staff appropriately, it is likely that some of those nurses were "travelers" or agency nurses--meaning that they are temps, or they may have been Sibley nurses who were "floated" from other departments. It seems likely that this was the case with the one who didn't know the policy about dads staying over, and possibly the one who was so unthinking about saying your baby was choking. This is not to excuse the behavior of these nurses--but the real question is what is Sibley doing to ensure appropriate staffing--and if the RNs have a voice in making improvements. Since they don't have a union--they probably don't. Nurses requently work 12-hour shifts, are often forced to work mandatory overtime, often don't have time to take a meal break or go to the bathroom. I don't know specifics at Sibley--but these are issues all over the country. I hope your next experience in a hospital is better. |
Anonymous
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Nice reply from the nursing expert. Very useful, thanks.
OP, I think you should absolutely write to the administration. When you do, be sure to keep your letter short, courteous, and to-the-point. (Your post was a little rambly, which is understandable in this context.) I might even use bullet points, so that your message can be clearly received, and quickly understood. I think it's SO important to communicate problems to the people who have the power to fix them, so I'm glad you're going to write that letter. Congrats on the baby! |
Anonymous
| This whole discussion thread has made me pretty anxious about my scheduled c/s for Wednesday. It brings back memories of having a 3am Sibley nurse tell me (after a few buzzes) on night #2 that I really need to learn to pick up my baby by myself. At that point I could barely move from the bed. Everything hurt so much still and I was afraid of the pain. She told me she couldn't just drop everything. I ended up holding the baby until 7 because I was afraid no one would come again and I didn't want her crying out of my reach. |
Anonymous
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Having delivered twice at Sibley now, I can say that the maternity ward nurses range from good to plain awful.
I also had the unfortunate experience of having a rude nurse scold me for not picking my baby up and feeding him (I had broken my tailbone, although it wasn't diagnosed yet, and it literally took me 15 minutes to go from lying down to gently scooching off of the bed... and another 5 to get across the room to the baby). I had buzzed for the nurse, who took her sweet time getting there. After listening to my baby crying, I tried getting up, and finally got to the bassinet right as she came in. I can't remember being so stressed... my baby had been shreiking for close to 20 minutes, I was in a ton of pain, it was 3 in the morning the first night after my 48+ hour marathon labor... and this nurse came in and told me I needed to "PICK HIM UP! Can't you see he's HUNGRY??!!" I burst into tears. The calloused care I've gotten there is a real sad commentary on the state of nursing. I've never met so many bitter people who seem to hate taking care of people. |
Anonymous
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I had two c-sections at Sibley, so I've spent eight nights there. The nurses do range greatly. There are very few, in my opinion, that are really wonderful. Most are competent though, but I've found that you really do have to basically kiss up to each one on each shift! I found it sort of exhausting. And yes, there are some really bitter ones there.
I find it interesting how many people used the word "bitter" here. Anyhow, I would recommend going prepared and being as self-sufficient as possible. Have lots of people visit you to distract you. Leave as soon as you can. If you do get a double room, be REALLY NICE so you get out of it right away (I know for a fact that the nurses made an exception and got me a private room over someone else who was waiting longer once.) |
Anonymous
| I had a bad experience at Sibley too -- all I had heard was how wonderful it was so at least this thread is a dose of reality. I'm now expecting #2 but like my OB (Foxhall) so I don't really want to change to go to deliver at a different hospital. Hopefully the management at Sibley is working to fix these problems. |
Anonymous
| I agree about being nice, it will get things done for you throughout your stay. Complaining and being really difficult will set your care back. Probably not the way things should work, but it's pretty much that simple. Tip--make your husband do the kissing up for both of you, you won't feel like it! |