The Bologna Blog

Hospitals

Gearing up for the insanity once more. This has been the roughest year of my nursing career. The news stations keep telling people that the hospitals are full, with no more room at the Inn. They need to clarify! There is no more staff to care for these people! I can pop anyone into a makeshift room but I can't guarantee that someone will be back to tend to their needs. I had a man screaming at me the other night because he waited an hour before he got his soda. What I couldn't tell him was that we were in the middle of a Medical emergency for over 2 hours and that the person ended up passing. It has been many years since I was a new young nurse wanting to cry over the bad days we experience. I have toughened up and shed my tears on people I encounter, not tasks.or stress But for the first time in a long time I had to leave this soda seeking jerk's room before I cried my eyes out.

Some years ago we began marketing the hospitals as comfortable homes away from home, or hotels with room service. I can even remember a campaign that was pushed that if you complained because your needs weren't met within 5 minutes, you got coupon for a free meal in the cafeteria. Nurses called it bitching for a burger with even the nicest of patients complaining to get free meals for their visitors. The program ended within a month because the hospital couldn't keep up with demand. It could be argued that improvement was needed on the front lines with regard to answering call lights or doing what the patient wanted, but I was the one that had to deal many of those complaints. There were a few genuine concerns, but for the most part they were things like (I didn't like my nurse in ED, My lunch was late yesterday, Why can't I have 5 visitors after 10 p.m.?, I didn't get my bath today because I said no when they asked, they microwaved my food and it was too hot to eat,and my tv went down in the storm) By word of mouth this insane program spread with people showing up on the floor asking for their free meal.

Fast forward to 2020, the year of COVID, the cafeteria and the coffee shop closes at two in the afternoon. Food stored on the floors is the bare minimum, you will be lucky to get peanut butter and grahm crackers. So you better eat what they send you when they send it. Night Nurses are also out of luck when it comes to buying a hot meal. Visitors are limited to the dying patients and even then only one is allowed. So please, if you see a garbed up visitor do not complain because they were allowed visitors. They were there to say goodbye to a loved one that spent their last days alone. We are not allowed to microwave food from the outside, so eat it cold or when you get it. No, you do not get a huge plastic cup with the hospital logo. We can only bring throw away cups to your room. And please remember, that while you spent 10 minutes chewing me out for that late soda, I could have been medically caring for someone in dire need. You are welcome for the soda and I promise to do my best to meet all of your needs. And there is no tip necessary, as I rethink my choice of careers. It was said a long time ago, that patience is a virtue and in the coming days we will need more and more of this virtue. Please pray for healthcare workers everywhere as they navigate through the tumultuous COVID infested waters.