Member Stories
“Have we lost the Spirit of Nursing?”
The following letter by Angela Pridham originally appeared in the September edition of The Lamp.
Over the last six months our elderly parents (90 & 91) were admitted to the local public hospital on three occasions between them. Our experience on all occasions was less than satisfactory and at times very disappointing.
We are both RN’s and we have come to the conclusion that some nurses appear to have lost the Art and Spirit of nursing. We understand that workloads issues are a problem, having worked in the system ourselves, however, empathy, kindness and common sense really do not take that much of your time when you are interacting with the patient whilst attending to care.
As professionals we always tried to treat our patients as we would want our own family to be treated. As relatives we expected nothing more than that and were embarrassed in front of our siblings when care was poor or substandard. In the words of our older sister, ‘Apart from giving us conflicting information, it appears that they either don’t know what is required or they don’t care.’
During our parents admissions we experienced; lack of introduction to the patient or us, lack of gaining consent, flippancy, a medication error resulting in a Sac 2, miscommunication, bad language and disclosure about one nurses personal life whilst attending to a dressing, waiting long periods of time for pain relief, little assistance with meals, lack of empathy, and little acknowledgement of the fact that we knew our parents very well and had been the main carers for them for the past three years.
On each admission, which lasted a minimum of 3 days, we are sad to say there was only one or two nurses each time who showed empathy, kindness and common sense. Those nurses were a wonderful ray of sunshine in what were otherwise bleak times, and restored our faith in the profession. Those nurses were kind, compassionate and acknowledged that we were one of them, knew what we were talking about, and wanted to be involved in the decision making. There is no reason to assume that those nurses had less of a workload than the others yet they found the time to put the relatives at ease, be professional and caring.
This has not been an easy letter to write. Many of you who know us, know that we are passionate about our profession. Perhaps that’s why we felt we had to write to the Lamp because of its wide coverage of nurses. Yes, workloads are a big issue in our hospitals but they are not the only issue. It is also relevant to note here that nurses were often not tied up with patients they were stuck in front of the computer.
The NSWNMA is doing their best to make ratios mandatory, but the rest is up to us. If the Art and Spirit of Nursing is not revisited, we’re not sure that nurses will stay as the No. 1 most trusted profession for much longer.
Letters to the Editor to The Lamp
Members of the NSWNMA can share their thoughts on anything important to them as nurses and midwives by sending a Letter to the Editor.
Four letters are published in the Lamp each month and the letter chosen as Letter of the Month will win a gift card. Please include a high-resolution photo along with your name, address, phone and membership number. You can submit your letter by emailing the Lamp: lamp@nswnma.asn.au
Jennifer Smith says
Angela you are absolutely correct that even though we may be short staffed and whilst the campaign of workloads remains ongoing, the way we are with patients and families is not dependent on how busy we are. We can be run off our feet and still maintain a level of care and approach to care that we ourselves would like to be at the receiving end of it. I have heard similar stories of late myself I have to say it does not sit very well for a profession that is a ‘caring profession’.
What is going on for nurses that the basics of relationships….respect and decency are not even present?
There are no excuses for this and certainly a blaming approach does not shift behaviour either. What is needed is honest reflection on where we are at and honest communication with patients and families when we do make errors in judgment and mistakes.
Considering what ‘care’ means beyond the functional would also be something for each of us to more deeply contemplate.
Amber Goodwin says
I can totally relate Angela, connecting with and getting to know our patients and there carers is an absolute must if we are going to provide the care required. I agree the space for a simple ‘caring’ relationship is becoming less common with the rise in demands and time pressures in the workplace. It would be great to interview the nurses that hold this good level of care, decency and respect and find out how?
Loretta Rappos says
Angela it is very disappointing to hear that your elderly parents’ admission to hospital was not at a high level standard of care. Deeply caring about our patients, being respectful and compassionate is the basis of what nursing is all about.
Loretta Rappos says
Angela it is very disappointing to hear that your elderly parents’ admission to hospital was not at a high level standard of care. Deeply caring about our patients, being respectful and compassionate is the basis of what nursing is all about.
Jane Anders says
Like you Angela I’m an older RN , and it has only recently occurred to me that “care” doesn’t mean what it used to . Someone said to me that people have got to get used to the idea that hospitals just provide the medical care – in essence , the operation , the medication , the monitoring , the bed , for anything more you’re on your own . It’s a frightening idea but seems to be the way things are going . I work in a Recovery unit , we are well staffed by today’s standards , but the poor staff on the wards are just beside themselves . They have ridiculous patient loads , terrifying responsibilities and no-one to help them . I can’t count how many patients we get for surgery from hospitals and nursing homes with dirty hair , dirty dentures and mouths , neglected feet and nails , it’s really scary . Yes there are some kind souls still out there but they’re doing it tough . I’m just glad I’m nearly at retirement age . As for the amount of time spent on the computer – don’t get me started . I go to work every day terrified that I’ll forget to document something online or I’ll get the staffing wrong , or I’ll be “performance managed” and I just hope I’ll get through the shift without crying . It’s just soul destroying .
Elizabeth Dolan says
Thank you Angela for taking the time to write this letter. The more people that speak up about the devaluing of basic fundamental care that is occurring within our health care system the greater the chance that true reform can be achieved. But reform will have to come from the bottom up and from the inside out. By this I mean that those of us who work with patients/residents every day need to share our experiences, as you have in this letter, in order to raise awareness about what we can do ourselves, rather than wait for someone else to change things for us. Nursing is a wonderful profession – let’s keep it that way.
kiwij says
Nurses today have been forced to wear many hats. With the introduction and continiual additions of a plethora of forms and assessments not to mention falls/dementia/ pressure area documentation. Nurses are becoming stretched not only in there patient ratios but even down to documentation in ALL relevant areas both EMR and not in EMR.
AS an RN working with 6 patients in any one shift, these 6 patients are not self-caring, yes do require assistance with feeding, can be 2 assist to transfer if not a full sling bed bound patient, can have very complex behavioural issues along with a multitude of complex chronic health issues. The reality is that as 1 RN attending to all these patients is both unfair and yes at times sub-standard.
As one of those nurses that DO CARE and DO HAVE EMPATHY and try to do my best by the patient and the family, people must keep in mind that we are nurses because we DO CARE and definatley not in it for a cushy pay packet at the end of the week!.
I often drive home feeling anxious, saddened and disappointed in the lack of compassion and appreciation of patients and families towards nursing staff…..many nurses are leaving the profession as they feel they cannot continue to provide “unsafe” or substandard nursing but feel that the profession is unsupported by senior management and unions….as nurses this feeling of concern and acuity and heaviness of patients coming into hospital with continual short staffing unsafe patient /nurse ratios and physical drain on them…..any wonder that the “spirit of nursing” is low and as to respect and decency…..how about a little for our nurses whom are struggling to remain positive in a very hard working environment…..at the end of the day we are also humans with feelings, families, our own issues…..lets stop blaming the nurses.