Working with Nurses

[MICURN]

In general, I think floor RNs are overloaded with patients, understaffed and disrespected (or feel that they are).  I'm an ICU RN and, honestly, the only nurses that are rude, short or snappy are the older ones that are close to retiring anyhow.  The rest of us are young (20s-30s) and we get along great with eachother, the MDs, NPs/PAs, pharmacists, etc.  The only time I am short with someone is during an emergency when I just need to get my point across and get something done.  The techs/CNAs we have in the ICU don't do very much besides BS, or helping to pull up a patient in bed, but they're still treated with respect.  I think floor nurses have too many patients and are therefore stressed and you know the saying - "sh*t rolls downhill".  In the ICU the MDs take the RNs suggestions, we round with them - they actually listen to us.  On the floors the providers tell the RNs what to do and really don't care to listen to what they have to say.  That gets passed on to the techs by the RNs.  Healthcare (nursing in general) still feels the echoes of a few decades ago when it was solely a female profession being dominated by an all male profession - Physicians.  It's getting better as more women become MDs and more men become RNs, but the older nurses in particular still tell stories of how they had to line up when the MD walked on the unit and have charts thrown at them or have their butts slapped (some of my older coworkers had these things happen).

[dndandrea]

Lets face it, nurses have a considerable amount responsibility, more than most people would like to accept, and it plays a major role in why a lot of nurses get stressed or burned out throughout their day. As a nurse assistant I always try to make their jobs easier, and sometimes that gets appreciated while other times it goes unappreciated. I don't let those times that go unappreciated bother me too much unless the nurse is just flat out disrespectful, which is very rare. I'm glad to have gone through the experience of working as a nurse assistant and working with nurses because it will make me a better PA if I work in a hospital setting putting in orders for nurses.

 

BTW, I would like to turn the tables and say that i've worked with a few VERY BAD nurse assistants as well.

 

edit: working as a nurse assistant also made me realize how difficult nurses have it and that I'm happy I decided not to go that route.

[delco714]

I've learned to teach, inform, ask and engage nurses in a non-condescending, you're-a-big-part-of-this way which has worked wonders in getting their help when needed and trust. Treating them, their colleagues, or their patients less than wonderfully works the opposite. If they think you think they're a partner in this, it will go a long way. Also, I usually try to engage cnas bc they're a gateway to nurses, and do many important things that I rely on bc the rn is too busy, like ambulating post op, bladder scans, etc.

[Joelseff]

This might be helpful...

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=hW7IVIqkC9feoAT_7oEg&url=http://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DJy7QDkK4BUM&ved=0CBwQtwIwAA&usg=AFQjCNHyhP2QSoYtYrVQbykWicormHSedQ&sig2=2n6UVtFlcFbxy5-3gk3OGA

[whoRyou]

^^^

[PAGuy55]

Thanks for all the responses guys. People gripe about being a tech but it truly has been a great experience and a humbling one at that. I've learned so much this year and even though we are at the bottom of the clinical ladder, we still go through a lot. Heck, this job pays more than my research job (15.00 vs 10.00) too! To add, I posted this on a horrible day. Really tough set of pts. I worked with this nurse again and we had a great time together. Echoing the poster above, working directly with nurses and having had the opportunity to speak to many nurses and docs definitely reinforced by thoughts about PA school. Can't wait!