i shouldn’t really write about this anymore. things like these are getting really boring.

but R is my friend. i knew exactly how she felt. except i’m thinking, i probably wouldn’t have cried the way she did, in front of the patient, and later, in front of every living being in the unit. i usually run to the restroom. i know, i’m such a loser.

R was taking care of K, a patient with end stage renal disease. an african american who is on three times a week hemodialysis schedule. in his mid 30s, he lives in a skilled nursing facility with people much much older than him, because his family cannot really take care of him and his regular hospitallization situations. we have a joke in our unit that he really loves spending time with us, because he is admitted for two to three weeks at a time on average, he is home for an avergae of ten days, then he is back at the ER, then, to us. with chest pain and shortness of breath, the hospital cannot really say no to him.

there are only two things that upset K. first is when the doctors wean him off the IV pain medication. second is when his IV pain medication is late. he wants his dilaudid 1 mg IV every two hours, on the hour. when the doctors decrease either his dose or frequency, or you come five minutes late, things will get ugly.

as expected, as the doctors anticipated K’s discharge, they decreased his dilaudid to every 4 hours instead of every 2 hours. R was the unfortunate nurse to break this news to K. as expected, he was NOT happy. he started saying rude things about the doctors. R, bless her heart tried to stay with him to calm him down. that was the idea at least, but things didn’t really worked out as planned.

his voice escalated. and he went on and on and on about a lot of things. about the hospital, the doctors, the nurses, and later, about R, and the fact that she is obviously a filipino, not american, but is working in america. R, concerned about the possible commotion his really loud voice might cause, closed the door.

“GET OUT OF HERE! YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE! GO BACK TO ASIA WHERE YOU REALLY BELONG!”

well, in summary, according to R, that’s what he said. unable to control her offended spirit, she went to the corner and sobbed. just in time for the charge RN, who is from india to come and check what the yelling was all about. the attending MD, who happened be a filipino, intervened, and patient relations was called.

the whole incident concluded with an apology from K, which  R sealed with a handshake. the patient relations people told K that this is never going to happen again…or else, he will be blacklisted.

i do understand why K is frustrated. i know it is important for him to get his IV medications as he wishes. all i’m saying is, is it really more satisfying to express one’s frustration by yelling, racial slurs included?

this is not really news, except that it still gets on my nerves how people can imply being racist even when they are too sick to take care of themselves.

on a totally different issue, let me ask you guys something. is it wrong for me to feel irritated with a co-worker who, everytime i give report to, expresses her extreme disgust that she works as a nurse, in our unit. these are her lines, verbatim: “i hate this freaking place. i go off for three days, and when i come back, i get this same list of crazy patients. i can’t wait to get out of here. i hate this place.”

what boggles me is that she has been telling me this for a year now, and she has not really done anything to resolve her issues. this is my point: i know she has her reasons for hating her job, and that is really none of my business, but is it really necessary to lash it out on me like it is all my fault she hates her life? i have tried seriously recommending that she consider transferring to another unit or hospital, and she said she will, but that was, as i said, a year ago.

if she really hates her job, do i really need to hear about it everytime i give her report? frankly, i do not have the skill to sort of give her the therapy she badly needs. i dread giving report to her, and i wonder if she actually feels relieved after expressing her negative feelings in such colorful language. if it does make her feel better, am i doing the right thing by being quiet when she starts her litany, when deep inside, i really want to tell her: “do me and yourself a favor, get out of here, get a better job, and enjoy your life!”

what is getting on your nerves at work? let’s talk about it…