Reply to Perhaps I'm not meant to work in the ER?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm a Cardiac ICU nurse. Definitely give ICU a try. I love love critical care and would be SO bored in primary care. During school on my clinicals in med surg I just hated it so much but ICU is so different. There are other challenges for sure, (hello, overbearing & difficult families I'm looking at you!) but it is way more interesting and you can really have an IMPACT. Otherwise are you at a level 1 trauma center? Are you in an urban area? Perhaps switch hospitals if you want to stay in ER.[/quote]

Are you referring to the overbearing and difficult families who perhaps are reeling from the crisis of having a loved one on life support in the ICU? Nice, pp.

How sad is it that the people we are forced to rely on for medical assistance are such jerky people with zero compassion? I realize that you've likely become detached as a coping mechanism since you are surrounded by human suffering and death, but perhaps you people would be better off taking a sabbatical or rotating through other parts of the hospital so that patients and their families don't have to deal with your attitude?

When my sister was literally dying in a local hospital, the majority of the people I encountered on staff were truly jerks. And I'm not difficult. I went above and beyond to suck up and heap appreciation on them for essentially doing their jobs...you know, the jobs they are paid to do.

[/quote]

HAHAHAHAHA. Unless you have ever worked in healthcare, you have no idea. I am a Social Worker in an ICU and have seen it all. I've been spit at, I've been called every name in the book multiple times, I have been threatened, I had a family member punch a hole in the wall over my head (guess I should have been thankful it wasn't my head, huh?), I had a family member wait for me in the garage trying to intimidate me (thankfully, I had security walk me to my car that evening), and I have been cornered in a room with a hostile family member who was most likely high on something. But I have also picked family members off the floor when they collpased with grief over the death of their loved one, I have stayed in touch with families after a traumatic event even after discharge, I have held the hand of your dying relative when you couldn't be there in time. I have helped you figure out how to talk to your loved one's medical team so you feel heard and empowered. I have advocated for you when you aren't there so you have a voice.

So, I am glad you think I (and people like me) have zero compassion. We have a ton of compassion - otherwise we would have left long ago. But we care. We care so much. Yes, we get tired. Yes, we can get short. Yes, we can be looking forward to going home and going to bed. But the compassion, empathy, and dedication keeps us coming back day after day year after year.

Thank you for being kind (even though the description of your kindness rings hollow) and not being the person who hits/threatens/stalks staff. But next time heap appreciation because you realize that what we do day in and day out to take care of your family member and your family is hard work. Yes, we are paid to do it. But it's not a glamorous life - but a life we chose because we love it.[/quote]

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