unprofessional nurse

LegacyUser

Hi, had a strange experience today, just thought I would post and get other opinions and views.
Long story short, I had bloods done last week with my GP, just a general check up. I was called back to get further bloods done with the nurse.

It is a bit long, but please read on

So I arrived in for my appointment, was sent into the nurse. The first thing she said to me in a huff was that she was just back from her lunch and was going to pop out to the loo. It was clear that she was in a bad mood and not in good form, but hey, we all have days like that, I had left work early to get this quick and simple procedure done, so i figured i would be in and out in no time. She arrived back in ten minutes later. So that was grand. When she came back in and looked at the computer, she had no idea why I was there and what she was meant to be testing me for today, so I had to fill her in on what I had been told by their secretary. She seemed reluctant to want to carry out a blood test on me and said that the secretary was probably 'overreacting' and that I would not need my bloods taken (?!?). Then she proceeded to try and take my bloods from my first arm, put the needle in, when she was finished she flung my cardigan (which I had taken off) onto me, part of which landed on my face, I was relieved as I thought she had finished, however she said that she failed to get any blood, so she proceeded to try my other arm, so I lay down on the couch/bed, she shoved my legs over onto the couch/bed (no need to do this I can move my own legs), meanwhile the first arm had a small bit of blood coming out of it, which she hadn’t wiped or place the cotton ball on it at that stage, after putting a needle in. At this stage I was getting tense and she asked me was I tense, I said (in a normal tone of voice) that I was as I thought that I had it over and done with (the taking of the blood when she put the needle into my arm that first time.) She snapped back at me that it was not her fault she could not get blood, (which is not what I was even implying). She did not succeed in getting blood from my second arm, so she said she would leave it for today as I was tense.(fair enough) and then said again that I probably wouldn’t need the test and again said that the secretary was probably 'overreacting' by telling me that I needed further bloods done! I then asked her for my other blood results from last week, which were back this week, she replied in an aggressive voice 'well what was it that you wanted to know?'! It was full bloods, so I mean, it is everything I wanted to know!! She called out two or three (e.g. liver, etc.) Then before I went she said, 'you know taking bloods is what I do everyday, so I am well used to it'. (I had said nothing to this woman about the fact that she failed to get any blood today)

I was shocked and traumatised after what was meant to be a quick, simple and routine procedure, bacuase she was so aggressive in her interactions with me the patient. I was keen to find out the full results of my bloods so I visited the GP, when she saw me waiting to see the GP, she came over to me and she asked me was I going to see the doctor and was it about getting my bloods done. She told me she was going into the GP 'to discuss my case with her'. I think she was worried about what I might say and wanted to get her own speak in first! So eventually, I got to see the GP, who explained everything to me in much clearer terms, she explained that the test was to check for a particular gene to indicate if I might be prone to a certain disease, (turns out it was very important and that the secretary was not ‘overreacting’). This information was completely different from the information that the nurse had told me at the end of my visit.
I am still in shock at her behaviour today, as every single experience I have ever had with the nursing profession up to now has been excellent, I could not praise them enough. What I find even more worrying, is that in this day and age, a patient can be treated in such an unprofessional manner, by a member of the medical profession. It also brought home to me the weak and vulnerable position we as patients can be, at times.

Stheno

moved from tLL

fghijkl

Please report this absolute cow.

"the secretary was probably 'overreacting'" What a load of Bullsh** the secretary doesn't make any decision on anything, they are not qualified to do so, they just relay information from doctor to patient that is all. Which she absolutely knew.

Listen OP i've had A LOT of blood tests in my time unfortunately, being tense is not a reason for a nurse not being able to take bloods, it's not like you can tense up your veins ffs, some nurses are just fuppin crap at taking bloods, sounds like she was flustered and was panicking because she couldn't find a vein so decided to blame you.

when she saw me waiting to see the GP, she came over to me and she asked me was I going to see the doctor and was it about getting my bloods done. She told me she was going into the GP 'to discuss my case with her'.

I'd report her for this aswell, she has no right to question you on why you were waiting to see the GP, or to "discuss your case", ehh does patient doctor confidentiality mean nothing to her?!

Sauve

Agreed,
If this was me, I'd write a letter to the practice manager outlining exactly what happened during your appointment with the nurse. We all have bad days at work but this was no way to treat a patient.

LegacyUser

Im sorry about that, thats terrible. May be she was having a bad day at work but that is risking people's health. I would find nursing depressing. i know they do a lot like be there when people are sick for them, give medication, take blood pressure etc and a lot of other things. I would find mental health nursing depressing, why do they call it psychiatric nursing here? that is silly, its about mental health after all. I don't know why nurses complain about their salaries they get paid when they are getting trained! social workers don't, care workers don't and they are very hard areas of work! Nurses should be glad their conditions are good.

gypsy_rose

Yep, I would say report her OP, she can't go treating people like livestock, it's her job to have a bit of bedside manner and not treat patients like that. You'll be doing future patients a favour if she gets fired or at least cleans up her act

FayeRayRay

I work in healthcare and clinical environments and from what I have read, she sounds like one of those people who does not like her job and in some industries thats ok, but its inexcusable in a clinical environment. She clearly was unprofessional, unorganized and uneducated. I would most definitely make a complaint, because that behavior should not be ignored and she could treat someone else like that if she is let off.

I hope all is well

x

deisemum

Did you bring it to your GP's attention when you saw her?

There are some right weapons in the nursing profession and unless their behaviour is brought to the attention of their managers or employers they'll continue as they are and their reputation will take from the good caring nurses.

irishh_bob

deisemum wrote: »

Did you bring it to your GP's attention when you saw her?

There are some right weapons in the nursing profession and unless their behaviour is brought to the attention of their managers or employers they'll continue as they are and their reputation will take from the good caring nurses.

i thought all nurses in ireland were universally wonderfull , angels of mercy every last one of them

Fentdog84

The jobs for life culture that exists in the public sector in this country means that miserable ol wagons like this can carry on as they please with their horrid behaviour without fear of any serious consequences whilst there are bright enthusiastic young nurses being forced abroad. Report her anyway what the heck :mad:

Maple

irishh_bob wrote: »

i thought all nurses in ireland were universally wonderfull , angels of mercy every last one of them

Banned.

Maple

pencilsharp

I'm a nurse myself and I would definitely complain about her. Regardless if she was annoyed that she couldn't get the blood or not because you were tense (if a patient is tense it can make it difficult) she had no right to treat you the way she did. It is our profession to be caring, considerate and professional and she lacked all three. She should not have dismissed your concerns like that. I'm sorry you had that kind of experience, hopefully other nurses can restore your faith in the nursing profession! Hope everything goes well with your blood tests.

dan_d

The secretary was over reacting?

Why didn't you ask her what did it matter what the secretary said, she's not the trained health professional?

I'd have been telling her "the secretary told me this, but you need to talk to the doctor to find out exactly what it is that's being tested for.I was just told to come back in for another test".

What an ignorant wagon. Stupid statement to make - the secretary..:rolleyes:.

I will say that I've had bloods taken, and I've had one nurse who (though very nice) left very large bruises on my arm in the process - and another, in the same surgery, where I couldn't even see the pin-sized needle mark several hours later. As with anything, their ability is variable.

But there's no call to be ignorant, politeness costs nothing. I suggest you ring your surgery, and ask could your doctor please ring you back when they get a chance (they'll do that). When you get the doctor back, tell them that you felt that the nurse was extremely rude and overbearing in her manner at your last visit, that it's bad enough having blood tests without someone behaving such an unprofessional manner and if it's possible you'd prefer to have somebody else do the test the next time round (presume it has to be done again, if she couldn't get blood that time??) as you found it to be a stressful and upsetting experience. Tell them that you found the nurse to be extremely unprofessional and you're not happy with that.

Can I point out that you're not weak and vulnerable here. It's your body. If you're not happy with the way you're being treated or the level of information you're receiving you need to speak up (as you did, when you saw your GP the second time). None of us are medical experts, but the medical profession are too often treated as though they are some type of God. They are doing a job, same as anybody is. You know your own body and in any other situation, you wouldn't allow someone to behave like that towards you.You're paying for the service (both through tax and straight from your own purse) so ensure you get what you deserve from it.

universe777

That sounds like a GP surgery I have been to before, that exact nurse.
Report her without a doubt, if it's the one I know she wasn't just having a bad day.

sam34

Fentdog84 wrote: »

The jobs for life culture that exists in the public sector in this country means that miserable ol wagons like this can carry on as they please with their horrid behaviour without fear of any serious consequences whilst there are bright enthusiastic young nurses being forced abroad. Report her anyway what the heck :mad:

a nurse in a GP surgery isnt in a public sector job-for-life

CK2010

OP, i used to need regular bloods when i was pregnant and the only person who could ever actually draw any was the phlebotomist, all the nurses used to insist that they'd be able to do it and would never listen no matter how much i told them, it was only after they'd punch holes in both arms til i was literally nearly fainting that they'd finally send me to the phlebotomist.

they were always really rude like the woman you had, saying it was my fault for being tense etc.! having to be used as a pin cushion every two weeks because the nurses are too proud to accept they cant do it takes the nerves out of you! they'd always say 'ive done this for years with no problems'! :rolleyes:

anyway a few things i learned over the nine months of getting jabbed repeatedly were to keep arms covered and warm beforehand and if you need to ask for a warm towel to place on your arm just beforehand this will help and drink lots and lots of water!

definitely complain though. its horrible when you're visiting a doctor or nurse for something (especially as nervewracking as bloods) and they do nothing to put you at ease.

work.inprocess

fluffypolarbear wrote: »

Im sorry about that, thats terrible. May be she was having a bad day at work but that is risking people's health. I would find nursing depressing. i know they do a lot like be there when people are sick for them, give medication, take blood pressure etc and a lot of other things. I would find mental health nursing depressing, why do they call it psychiatric nursing here? that is silly, its about mental health after all. I don't know why nurses complain about their salaries they get paid when they are getting trained! social workers don't, care workers don't and they are very hard areas of work! Nurses should be glad their conditions are good.

Not completely true. Nursing students in Ireland are only paid during their internship which is 6-9months (depending on the type and length of the course being studied) during the second half of the fourth year of the course, where, most of the same tasks and responsibilities are taken by the student, as a newly qualified nurse at (the current rate of) 76% of the pay, which for next years interns is being reduced to 60% and 2014's interns will be 40% (equating to a little over €3 per hour) subsequent years will not receive any pay during their training - one of the bright ideas of the previous governments (which is now thankfully under review). Nurses are glad their conditions are good (well better than they used to be) but in no way are they up to par in relation to international standards.

CK2010 wrote: »

OP, i used to need regular bloods when i was pregnant and the only person who could ever actually draw any was the phlebotomist, all the nurses used to insist that they'd be able to do it and would never listen no matter how much i told them, it was only after they'd punch holes in both arms til i was literally nearly fainting that they'd finally send me to the phlebotomist.

they were always really rude like the woman you had, saying it was my fault for being tense etc.! having to be used as a pin cushion every two weeks because the nurses are too proud to accept they cant do it takes the nerves out of you! they'd always say 'ive done this for years with no problems'! :rolleyes:

anyway a few things i learned over the nine months of getting jabbed repeatedly were to keep arms covered and warm beforehand and if you need to ask for a warm towel to place on your arm just beforehand this will help and drink lots and lots of water!

definitely complain though. its horrible when you're visiting a doctor or nurse for something (especially as nervewracking as bloods) and they do nothing to put you at ease.

It's true about the warm limbs, I work in a hospital and they're always putting gloves filled with warm water on the kids hands/arms to warm them up. I once had to put my hands into boiling (well not technically, boiling from the tap - there was steam coming from it) water to try and get my veins to come up when in a hospital getting GP bloods done - It worked thankfully, although some nurses were shocked when I told them afterwards. Good tip about the water, milk is supposed to be very good too to drink before going to have blood taken, and also I find flexing your arms (not in the body builder sense, but maybe just opening and closing your hand like as if squeezing a stress ball) for about 5 minutes before hand is really helpful to get a vein and help the blood to keep flowing once the needle is in - Sorry for being off topic.

Maple

As this thread is over two months old and the OP hasn't been back since, I am now locking this thread.

Maple.