in center

[Capncrunch]

Hello,

I was wonder if you guys who were or currently on dialysis consider your nurses and the techs as your friends/family?  There are times when I feel like they treat me very well, but then there are those time when they don't give a damn about me. Sometimes I feel like many of the workers don't care about their patients, they are only doing their job because their getting paid. Or maybe I'm not really open minded 

[Speedy1wrc]

It depends on the center, each has it's own personality. My old center had a few tech's and nurses who were super. But then there were too many who just treated you like a number. Get you on and off as fast as possible with the least amount of effort.

I switched centers to be able to do Home Hemo. It's run by the same group but is completely different than the old center. Everyone I've met there goes above and beyond to tale care of their patients.

I know some of the nurses at both the new and old center personally. They are people I know for various reasons. Those people are even better than super.

If you really don't like your center and if it's possible, change to a different one. For me I had that option, for some though I know it's not possible.

If you feel comfortable enough, talk to the social worker. They are supposed to be there for just such instances. I do know hearig fro others though that it has backfired.

Good luck!

[Riki]

I live in a small place, so some of my nurses are neighbors.  We all feel like friends and family, though.  Some of the nurses bring their kids in, and they'll sit with patients.  A couple of the nurses were out on maternity leave, and they brought their babies in for us to see

[Speedy1wrc]

I visited a small center like that in Pa. They were all super friendly and spent a lot of time with the patients. They only had 10 chairs and when I was there were only 4 or 5 patients. The nurses would sit and talk with the patients when they weren't doing something. I spoke with the head nurse for almost a half hour about cramping. She was very knowledgeable and I learned a lot of new techniques to help. At my old center the nurses would just shrug their shoulders whenever I asked them about anything. There are some very nice centers out there if you can find them.

[Stacy Without An E]

After doing some traveling & experiencing other Dialysis centers in my area & across the country, I've found that more often than not, the smaller the center, the more attentive the care.  I'm presently in a 48 chair unit & it's just far too big, crowded, & chaotic.  Fortunately I'm on the last shift, so usually my chair is on-time.  The biggest problem is with a big center like mine, the percentage of jaded employees is higher. 

I also hate it when you try to get some help or answers from someone & they have an attitude of, "Oh well, I guess you'll just have to suffer."  If only we had a device we could use to make medical professionals feel what we're feeling for a minute or two.  Maybe then they'd have a little more compassion for what we endure.