I am a pariah in my chosen field, Nursing. Do I care? Not a whit. In fact, I relish the role, and will tell anyone who asks why I chose to work in the dregs of the nursing profession, the (cue sinister background music) Nursing Home. Nursing students are indoctrinated (read, beat over the head) with the fact that if you work in long term care, you are somehow less than a nurse. I beg to differ.
I have been labeled a Glorified babysitter. Albeit a glorified babysitter who can spot the onset of Congestive Heart Failure at the first wheeze, or detect a Urinary tract infection only by a change in the demeanor of one of my patients.
I am a glorified babysitter, who sits, holding a dying patient's hand, so she won't die alone because her son is too busy to come when he is called with the sad news that Mother has had yet another stroke, and the Doctor says there is nothing left to be done. I am the one who listens, rapt, to hear a resident tell me the tale of his heroic escape from the Nazis for the umpteenth time, today.
I am the one who cheers long and loud for the stroke victim when he takes his first tentative steps with the Physical Therapist. I am the one who cracks a joke to cheer up the resident who hasn't had a visitor in two years. I am the one who cries along with the patient who finds out the lump is NOT benign. I am your Granny's nurse.
The media has not helped the Nursing Home's image. It is not newsworthy that the majority of Nursing homes are lovely places that give exquisite care and offer a glimmer of compassion to a person's Autumn years. .
No, what we see are the horror stories. The homes depicted in the exposes by newsmagazines such as 20/20, 48 hours, 60 minutes and the like represent a minuscule percentage of the nursing homes out there. It is sensationalistic rubbish such as these which have most people saying" Shoot me, if you ever have to place me in a home".
Most people now believe that if you place Granny in a nursing home, she will be either a) beaten, b) raped c) neglected or d) all of the above. They don't mention the cliques of little old folks who would rather die than miss their weekly Bingo or Euchre games, the old lady who giggled so hard when the puppy she was holding has an "accident" that she had one herself, or the staff who took up a collection to buy a bus ticket for a resident's daughter to travel to see her before she died.
They also fail to mention the nursing assistants, those patient, caring individuals who perform the "grunt work" in the nursing home. It is they, who spend the most time with the patients, who notice the subtle changes in the residents which can often signal a debilitating illness, thus treatment can be sought all the sooner.
It takes a very special person to work in a nursing home. It takes an even more special person to return day after day, year after year. It is the nursing home staff who makes sure Grandpa isn't wandering around the city in his night clothes, or without them. We make sure Grandpa keeps his clothes on, while maintaining his dignity as well.
How do we do it? With compassion. With a laugh. With a tear. With a strong back.
Why do we do this often thankless job? Because its what we were born to do.
Pariah? I wear the label proudly, like a badge, thank you very much.
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Comments: 31
Ed, I'm glad you understand the feeling that caring for others brings. It is worth far more than any paycheck.
And...I think it is not so much heroics but compassion and true caring for others that makes it so rewarding. On another note...I have GOT to get out of the for-profit home I'm currently employed at and back to a non-profit.
Donald, You're welcome.
it's incredibly difficult work and the burden falls on the nurses and careworkers in any emergency when the doctor is gone--which is 98% time. and it is the nurse and the her staff that face the first line of abuse threats, lawsuits and malpractice threats for any bdsores or bruises, etc even if everything is done in the best possible manner.
people who want ot complain about nursing homes and care within them are generally the same peole who are not put on notice for every 15minute turning-duty and they are also not the ones who scramble down the halls for the fifth change of linens in a room because it is illegal to leave a patient in a wet bed
and they never think of the emotional burdens or the grief that many in the nursing profession bear when they se a patient suddenly struck down or neglected by family
or the guilt they drag home at night or the wee hours in the morning when they have done everything they could to ease the person's suffering and the person still suffers in agony--
and for these reasons, despite the scholarships offered me, I simply could not enter it as a profession because the nightmares never went away and the grief overwhelmed me when I came home.
it takes a very unusual person to work in such demanding situation--someone who can remain cool and poised even in the worst of situations, nor panic if a schozophrenic suddenly flies out of control and someone who will be sure to turn the patient every fifteen minutes and massae the legs and feet whenever possible
and someone who can offer dignity and reassurance with a bedpan or commode because it is so humiliating and devastating to be dependent on others for basic help
keep writing to give insight to others about your profession, because it is a profession and deserves respect.
He has tremendous respect for professionals, like you.
Thanks for publishing this to The Renewed Activist.
Cat, God, I love your comments!!!!!
Mary, I get those "problem children" frequently. My biggest gripe in this profession is that staff tends to want to treat the mentally ill and dementia patients like children, which they are not, regardless of their cognitive abilities. Respect is the key. Respecting a patient's right to BE, however they present themselves. And I agree, this work is not for everyone.
Kathryn, I published this to The Renewed Activist because the elderly need all the help they can get, and if my ramblings could inspire just one to go out and volunteer an hour a week in a home, not only would they enrich the life of a lonely old person, but enrich theri own as well.
VIcky, Thanks
I have written numerous "Your Granny's Nurse " columns here. Read some of them and tell me what you think.
Glad to hear you are not averse to working in a nursing home. Don't let your instructors tell you(and they WILL), that geriatrics should be a last resort. You already know how rewarding it can be, and we can use all the good nurses we can get.
I have to go and study now!!!!! I cannot wait to read more!!!
James, I love seeing pics of patients in their heyday. The stories they tell are so fascinating, I could listen all day.
It does help the staff to realize the person behind the illness.