Frustrated and complaining

[Fabkiwi06]

Apologies in advance, because I suspect I'm whining over nothing.

When I started PD back in December, I was matched with an awesome nurse. We got along really well, communicated well, it was a good partnership.

She has taken a job out of state and left the clinic. I got matched with a new nurse to take over my general issues. I have to admit, it's not working well.

I'm not sure if she's used to patients who are in worse condition than I am, or much older (I'm 27 and other than the kidney disease, in great health), or just burned out. But she either hovers over everything, or is nowhere to be found - one extreme or the other. She's not good at answering my questions. Twice we've had miscommunication about when my appointments are. It hasn't really affected my quality of overall care since I'm on CAPD; I really just see her once a month for lab draws. It's just frustrating!

I miss my old nurse.

[hatedialysis2]

I'm 54 and it breaks my heart to hear a 27 year having to deal with dialysis and CKD.    You sound like a very positive and strong person!    I had a home hemo nurse who used to stress me out. I tried everything and after 2 years I switched to another center.  I have so much peace of mind now. Keeping my fingers crossed he stays with me for the long haul. 

[kristina]

Apologies in advance, because I suspect I'm whining over nothing.

When I started PD back in December, I was matched with an awesome nurse. We got along really well, communicated well, it was a good partnership.

She has taken a job out of state and left the clinic. I got matched with a new nurse to take over my general issues. I have to admit, it's not working well.

I'm not sure if she's used to patients who are in worse condition than I am, or much older (I'm 27 and other than the kidney disease, in great health), or just burned out. But she either hovers over everything, or is nowhere to be found - one extreme or the other. She's not good at answering my questions. Twice we've had miscommunication about when my appointments are. It hasn't really affected my quality of overall care since I'm on CAPD; I really just see her once a month for lab draws. It's just frustrating!

I miss my old nurse.

I am very sorry Fabkiwi06 how you feel at the moment... I can well imagine how very difficult it is for you to get over the loss of this wonderful nurse who assisted you so well in getting along so well with your dialysis treatments... Perhaps you could give the new nurse a little more time to adjust and with a bit of good luck she might develop into becoming a wonderful nurse as well...?
Best wishes and good luck from Kristina.

[Deanne]

You aren't whining over nothing. A good relationship with the people we depend on makes a big difference. I can relate a bit. I was only on dialysis (PD) for six months, but I loved the nurse who trained me. She respected that I'm independent and didn't need any hand-holding. She put me through both manual and cycler training in less than a week and let me go early every day because she saw that I understood everything. We're both dog people so we shared dog stories and enjoyed just chatting. Then she moved out of state. I don't think I had a "regular" nurse after that. Whoever was available took care of me. It was ok, but not great. I still sometimes wonder how my old nurse is doing, two & a half years later.

Is your new nurse new and that's why she feels to hover, to "prove" herself? I'd hate that. Maybe in time she'll trust you more and will back off a bit. The scheduling screw-ups would annoy me to no end though. Does your nurse do the scheduling herself? My center had a separate scheduler who took care of it, and they always gave me a reminder call.

[Michael Murphy]

The most important thing that should exist in the relationship is trust, then respect.  With out them dialysis becomes more of a trial.  If the nurse can't make a appointment correctly is sh competent enough to oversee your treatment.  Personally I would ask for a different nurse and if they can't I would try a other center.

[Charlie B53]

My PD Team gives me an appt letter, makes DOUBLE sure that I know the date and day of the appt and places that letter in the very top of the left inside pocket, making it the very FIRST thing you see when you open my log book.

My Training Nurse hs been mmy Team Nurse almost three years.  Just recently  due to the much grown caseload has been reassigned, I now have the 2nd, Lou.  She's tries hard to be nice, just needs a little mmore practice on blood draws as I am a hard stick.  She at least listens to me and lets me tell her the best method of poking me and has a much better success rate now.

[Fabkiwi06]

Thanks guys. I do think a large part of it is just me not liking change and being a whiney baby about it.

Since my clinic is down a staff member (and was slightly short staffed anyway) I'm sure she's got a lot on her plate right now too. Goodness knows, if I was a nurse, I'd just curl up in a ball and hide.

It's really not so bad. And I've finally gotten my referral to a transplant center, so hopefully a new kidney is just around the corner.

[Vt Big Rig]

Sorry you have to deal with this too. It is stories like this that make me give Thanks for the nurse I have!!!!

[kitkatz]

It takes time to get used to new people.  I know whenever I have had to change clinics it takes 3 to 6 months to get comfortable with the new place and routine.