Nurses Are Rude

Nurses are beautiful – whether physical or inward beauty, they're just simply BEAUTIFUL – and AMAZING too but it is sad that a lot of people have this misconception about them. Are Nurses really rude? Is there any iota of Truth in the statement above? Well, I had this misconception too until I started my journey into the profession. Keep reading 👇

Who is a rude Nurse? What qualifies a Nurse as "rude" to the average Kenyan health seeker (or client)? Let me try to answer. Feel free to add yours in the comment session. 

A rude Nurse is:

👉 that Nurse who asks patients' relatives to leave when visiting hours are over or tell them to wait outside when it is not visiting hours yet.

 

👉 that Nurse who insists on having only 2 visitors to a patient at a time.

👉 that Nurse who tells the patients' relatives to sit on the chair instead of their patient's bed.

👉 that Nurse that didn't attend to you when you or your sick relative was screaming for help. 

I'll stop there. Like I said before, feel free to add yours on the comment section. 

I really need us to understand these few points I want to make. 

In the hospital setting, the patient is most important. Yes, you read that statement right. All the health workers (Nurses, Doctors, Pharmacists, Physiotherapists, etc) are important but the patient is 'IMPORTANTER" 😊 Permit me to use that word. The entire team play the role of serving the patient. The patient is their priority and all their actions (and inaction) is for the patient's benefit. 

Nurse Otieno

This is true especially for the Nurses who are first to have contact with the patient. Their aim is for the comfort of the patient and they prioritize the patient's needs  in giving care. Do you now see that when a Nurse tells you not to sit on his patient's bed, it's because he is considering his patient's comfort.  he knows what is best for his patient. 

A Nurse knows when his patient needs to rest. When a Nurse tells you visiting time is over, please understand his intention. It is for his patient's benefit. Now, for the number of visitors a patient can have at a time, consider a scenario where all the patients in a particular ward have more than 3 visitors at a time and they be making noise, disturbing the whole hospital. Will the Nurse be unfair to send them out? For heaven's sake, it's a hospital NOT a market square 🤣.  The instruction is simple right? But some people will now come and be fighting the Nurse over it. 

 People  do not  understand the concept of infection control. There's something called NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION or simply "Hospital Acquired Infection". You see health workers using protective equipments and carrying out sterile procedures o but because you're feeling like James Bond, you just go and pack infection and be transmitting to others when you get home. I cannot emphasize this point further than this because Mr. Corona has already done that for me. 😊😅

When Nurses say do not enter, it's actually for your own good. 

As for that Nurse that didn't attend to you when you were screaming for help, it's because he was following a basic principle he learnt – the principle of TRIAGING. Let me explain it like this; A Nurse is attending to two patients, patient A and patient B. Patient A has mild fever while patient B has a respiratory problem. Patient A has been screening for the Nurse's attention. An intelligent Nurse would give more priority to patient B because patient B's condition is more severe even though he/she is not screaming for help. You get my point? Priority is based on severity of the condition. This scenario is for a Nurse having two patients. In most cases, a Nurse attends to over 50 patients a day. Some people can be very inconsiderate. Please let's understand and learn to be concerned about others too. 

However, I am not in any way trying to support the harsh treatment some Nurses mete out to their clients. Nurses are humans too. There's a part of the brain that can misbehave and cause them to do what they do. Nurses have emotions too. They have weaknesses too. They can get tired too. They have families who need them too. They're only trying to stay strong – strong enough to care for their patients. It is not an easy task. I beg you, please don't make it any harder for them. 

I would like to add that since it's not all Nurses that are rude (obviously you have not had an encounter with all of them), it is only appropriate that when you want to talk about a sad experience you had with one or a few of them, you say "Nurse XYZ was rude to me" or "Nurse XYZ is a rude Nurse." DO NOT say "All Nurses are rude" or "Nurses are rude" simply because of that one experience. 

Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing will not be happy to hear this statement wherever she is.

And to every selfless Nurse out there, always remember that the first impression you give to your client or their relatives matters. Make a good first impression. You may not be able to change that. 

Real Nurses are trained to love, respect, understand, and be selfless in giving care to whoever needs their care. I am glad to have chosen this path. 

Nurses are the Engine of the hospital 😅😂 Argue that with your keypad. 

Dear Nurse, feel free to share your experience in caregiving in the comment section. 

PS: NURSES as used in this context refers those who are certified and registered by the Nursing Council and NOT those quacks that go through 3-6 months training in "God knows where" then come out to call themselves nurses. I will write about them another day but if you're one, remember that you will be answerable for tarnishing the image of this noble profession. 

Till I come your way again,

STAY SAFE.

BE RESPONSIBLE.

PROTECT YOURSELF AND OTHERS. 

I remain your Nurse.

Nurse Otieno Cares. ✍️😍🤗