She is at it again.

[KICKSTART]

She, being the nurse from hell , i reported several months ago if you remember ? I dont know how i kept my mouth shut today , but i did because on Thursday i will be reporting her again.  I know several people will suggest i change units etc , but why should i ? I am not going to let her get me out of that unit , its handy for me , i get on with everyone (now) and im left to sort myself out . I dont want to go back to square one at a new unit , when ive settled in there.
Ok , so what has she done ? Stupid niggling things but enough to add up and again make me out to be a liar. I still have a neck cath in and she is doing her best to compromise it , she is putting sterile gloves on , then touching alsorts, she is leaving the ends uncovered and walking off for something and she is leaving them filthy or as one nurse put it today ..minging.  She did my dressing last week (they are done once a week) and dug in so hard i was hurting for days after, so i asked another nurse to check all was ok and at the same time she changed the dressing. So today i didnt need it doing , guess what this b**** wrote in my notes ...patient REFUSES to have dressing changed. She told me last week she had read an email to my neph about my cinacalcet and said to me , i believe you have stopped taking it because its making you twitch ! ff's its giving me serious chest pains not f'in twitching. Today i had to wait for over 40 mins to get put on ...machine fault i was told, she then came up to me and said i would have to wait for that machine because she had been told there was only 2 beds i would go on. I corrected her and said no , its just that if bed a is available or bed b then its great for me because im not facing all the lights. I have never refused to go anywhere. So im going to be in the sisters office again on thursday. I cannot and will not let her keep getting away with this. It just makes going in all the harder when she is on. If anyone has any suggestions (apart from move) on how to deal with this , let me know.

[Stacy Without An E]

Usually I'm always talking about issues with personnel on my blog, which somehow has filtered down to the staff, and that's how problems get resolved.  It usually ends up that I'm not the only one who is complaining about a certain individual, so my writings are validated.

In your situation, when it comes down to one individual causing your problems, you need proof.  I realize that this involves a little invenstment in either a portable audio recorder, or one of those Flip video recorders.  Once something is rightfully documents, the I said/she said debate can end.

This is obviously someone who shouldn't ever, ever, ever be working in the medical field.  She seems like a power hungry individual who enjoys dominating the frail, weak, and defenseless in her little Dialysis community.

[KICKSTART]

Thanks Stacy but one thing im not is frail,weak or defenceless i can assure you ! and i think that is why she trys to assert herself in other ways , ways very difficult to prove. I understand what you say about recording things but you could hardly sit and point a camcorder in someones face when they are putting you on, and much as i would like to be im not Jane Bond , yes Jane not James , lol so no spy cams for me. She is deffo power hungry trust me. Its just so annoying that when she says something even that is wrong !

[Brightsky69]

Slash her tires....... but seriously. 

I would move. I tried to put up with a slack A$$ nurse. But once she gave me a tunnel infection. I had her a$$ fired and then moved. I let that filthy A$$ nurse take care of me and my own detriment. I would move especially if she is being slack with your cath. Don't risk it. She could kill you and get away with it.

[Brightsky69]

 I let that filthy A$$ nurse take care of me to my own detriment

[greg10]

KS, you should change your avatar to something like this:

And if my father were still in one of those big chain dialysis clinics, I would've liked him to carry one of these, although it is doubtful he could have used it properly.

Pinhole Spy Keychain Camera
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/usb-rechargeable-av-300kp-pinhole-spy-keychain-camera-w-tf-slot-44188

[Poppylicious]

Perhaps the Nurse From Hell needs some basic hygiene training?  I'm sure the Sister won't be happy that she's become so lax; it's good that the other nurse noticed too (would she be able to put a word in as well?)

Can you simply ask for another nurse to 'look afer you' whilst you're in, unless completely unavoidable? I realise that - as well as being difficult on some occasions - it may cause friction, but if you wrote a nice non-accusatory letter to explain your reasons perhaps it would help?

Or you could just be awkward.  When she approaches you ask her to put a new pair of sterile gloves on, even if you've just seen her don a new pair.  Every time she writes in your notes ask her to show you before she leaves and then question why she's written something you're not happy about.  Every time she walks away leaving the ends uncovered call her back very loudly and enquire as to when she's going to pop back and finish the job.  The next time she questions you about a drug, or something she's read in an email, just smile sweetly and explain that it's between you and your neph, who is dealing with the issue, thankyouverymuch.

Oh, and the next time you feel as though you're about to be sick, call her over and then vomit on her shoes.

 

I hope that having a chat with the Sister again helps; it seemed to help last time you had a problem, didn't it?  *fingers crossed* for you.  Dialysis is not a place you want to be anyway, much less when you dread going in because of one power hungry b!tch. 

[Stoday]

you could hardly sit and point a camcorder in someones face when they are putting you on,

Oh yes you could, with a car key fob cine camera. These costs less than a tenner and produce an AVI file that you can download onto your computer.

Look for "808 camera" on Ebay.

If you like, send me a chuckaway email address & I'll send you a movie of me being needled in my unit taken with my key fob camera.

[KICKSTART]

Thanks guys , im trying not to think about tomorrow but i hate going in with an issue , going in itself is bad enough !

Stoday , thanks for the offer of the filming , if it was anything else but needles , i would take you up on it ....why couldnt you have filmed something nice and serene ? 

[keefbeer]

Kickstart, we have two nurses just like yours it seems to be a problem with middle aged arrogant British nurses working in the NHS.
My unit is split into 5 bays so its a lottery which nurses are on duty it seems to me the sloppy nurses are rotated around so as not to piss off or kill too many patients.While we are in the waiting room any patients leaving after treatment are questioned as to whose on duty and in which bay!
If it was not for the highly effective and friendly Filipino and Polish nurses the death rate would be similar to the Somme.

[KICKSTART]

keefbear , sorry but i had to laugh at your summing up of things ..so true !  Well the upshot of today after a nice long chat was that it was much appreciated, if no one brought things to their attention then nothing could be done. Im giving you the edited version ..lol  The plan is to carry on as normal and with my agreement to be in the main body of the unit as opposed to my cupboard under the stairs from where she can be closely observed and then take it from there. All my points where taken with seriousness and not questioned and it wont be unusual for me to be on the main part of the unit , believe it or not , i dont live under the stairs, they do let me mix with the other inmates from time to time ! 

[RichardMEL]

KS it's great that the matron(?) is being supportive of you and trying to find solutions and listening to you!!

One question - your place "under the stairs" - is that the same as the "little room" you talk about that you liked to be in away from the lights? If you're on the main floor of the unit what about the pain from all the light? Or has that problem been sorted?

It seems to me that with regards to this nurse, where there's smoke there's fire - that the powers that be are doing this to observe her suggests that you're not the only one to have problems with that nurse and there's clearly mounting evidence there - so it's not just you and they clearly want to do something about it, but need evidence.

it all sounds positive so far. Let us know

[KICKSTART]

Hi RM , yes my cupboard under the stairs is my little room. I dont really have a choice but to endure the lights if im on the main bit , i do get put on there at least 2 out of every 3 sessions, so it wont look strange. The only time i get my little room is when its not needed but they do try and get me in there as much as they can.(now). I hadnt given thought to there being more complaints , good point RM , will be interesting to see what happens and if anyone else comes forward now.

[Poppylicious]

That's brilliant Kickie.  And it does indeed sound as though other people may have put in complaints too.  Hope it works out okay.

 

[rsudock]

kickster how about wearing sunglasses to help with the glaring lights? i do that sometimes

xo,
R

[Stoday]

Stoday , thanks for the offer of the filming , if it was anything else but needles , i would take you up on it ....why couldnt you have filmed something nice and serene ? 

I filmed that because I wanted to watch my arm being cannulated. I have a problem watching in real life so I thought I'd find a film easier. I can't bear to watch it.

I did try to self-cannulate and managed it three times. But I stopped and now I've regressed.

[KICKSTART]

kickster how about wearing sunglasses to help with the glaring lights? i do that sometimes

xo,
R

Yeah i do wear sunglasses and have tried loads of stuff, thanks for the suggestion anyway  I have a sensitivity to fluorescent lights , the only real solution a specialist told me , is dont sit under them !

[rsudock]

kickster how about wearing sunglasses to help with the glaring lights? i do that sometimes

xo,
R

Yeah i do wear sunglasses and have tried loads of stuff, thanks for the suggestion anyway  I have a sensitivity to fluorescent lights , the only real solution a specialist told me , is dont sit under them !

don't ya just love the bone head things docs says?! I would have looked at him and said, "Awesome idea doc I will just stop going to dialysis...hey I'll be dead but damn at least the lights won't be bothering me!"   

xo,
R

[Tracy]

At my center, the techs do everytying.  One tech that seemed to always get me when I first started D, always bruised me and hurt me really bad and then couldn't seem to get the needles in.  The doctor makes his rounds once a week and one week I quietly told him I didn't want her to do my arms anymore.  He said tell the nurse.  At the time, I said, I can't, I'm afraid of her.  She is very intimidating.  He said, don't worry, I'll take care of it.  And ever since then, I haven't had that tech touch me.  I'm so thankful.  I haven't had anymore bruises.  I hope you can get some help like that.  That is way too stressful for you to go through every time you go to D.

Good Luck! 

[silverhead]

KS, something that may help you understand why the fluorescent lights bother you so much is the fact that those lights are actually turning on and off at a rate of 60 times per second (or whatever the cycle rate in your country is) unlike a standard incandescent bulb the "burns" continuously. A long ago friend was an optometrist and told me about his early training involved measuring the output of the optic nerve and it was sending the rapid pulses to the brain which obviously worked hard to make it seem to be continuous instead of pulsing.....
Tom