Tired Of Being The Bad Guy

8 The hospital where I work part time has a children's hospital incorporated into it. I occasionally work in the PICU and other units there.

The children's hospital has a standard practice of not doing painful or scary procedures in the kids room, and not having the child's nurse preform scary or painful procedures. Instead he kids are taken to a procedure room, accompanied by a child life specialists and an outside staff member is brought in to do the scary and painful procedures. That outside staff member is nearly ALWAYS me when I am working. I get a call from the nursing supervisor to please go to peds and start an IV, get and ABG, drop an NG, start a central or art line or some other procedure.

I get that they want to keep the child's nurse and room as a safe and caring place for the kids. I get that they do not want the kids to fear their primary nurse. I get that sick kids need procedures preformed on them. I get the whole thing.

I just HATE always being the one who has to play the bad guy. Despite taking as many precautions as possible to prevent pain in children during procedures, occasionally what they need done hurts them, and even when it doesn't it's usually scary for them. The child life specialists do a great job with the kids during procedures, but still crying kids is very common.

I am a father, I love children, I love caring for pediatric patients when I get the be the primary RN. I hate when cute little kids start crying just at the sight of me. Makes me feel like I must be a truly evil person.

Last night I worked transport on that hospital. When some of the other transport nurses and I went down to the cafeteria to grab some dinner there were a bunch of kids from the pediatric floor accompanied by a child life specialists there getting ice-cream sundaes. As soon as I walked in two or three of the little kids started crying as the sight of me.
Starts to get to you after a while. Last edit by Joe V on Dec 4, '13
Deleted double post

I feel for you.It must be nice to work on that floor though, the nurses not having to do any of that.

((HUGS)) I KNOW your pain. There was once a time none of us could escape that one look and tears for we all wore white. I'd be at the grocery store some kid would be in line and CLEARLY had had a recent experience....he took one look at my whites bent his head back and opened his mouth letting the most ear crushing wail I had ever heard!His mother shot me the dirtiest look and made some comment about finding another line and stop scaring her child....I was crushed. I had NEVER seen that kid in my life.Job hazard....sigh

We have a little chronic kid at our facility who just HOWLS at the sight of me. I've never done anything even remotely painful to him- he just doesn't like the way I look. Seriously. I ran into him outside the hospital. His mom said she does not know why, but I'm the only person he's had this reaction to. I feel your pain my brotha'

I'm sorry, that really sounds like it would be hard for you. I'm glad you're there for them, though. You sound very compassionate and caring.

Tell them you need a break from it for a little while.

Quote from CrunchRNTell them you need a break from it for a little while.

What a burden to carry. I agree that asking for a break or some kind of rotation when possible is not unreasonable. When I was doing my preceptorship on a peds hem-onc floor, I wondered how anyone ever did a procedure on a crying child that was flailing around. I understand their reasoning, but it just sucks to be in your position.I had a trach patient that "fired" me because I couldn't get an IV started on him. Anytime I was the second nurse to check blood or chemo on him after that, he would narrow his eyes and point at me and shake his head. It's crazy how some people just form that detachment to a nurse the way others form an attachment.

I definitely think you should be discussing this problem with some key people at your hospital. Employee assistance? - Maybe ...But what about discussing it with your manager first to let him/her know the burden and distress this practice is causing? Is there some kind of employee wellness program/committee that you could raise the issue with? Maybe even the Social Workers or Chaplain Service would be worth talking to. Most hospitals have some people or committee that deal with employee satisfaction and/or wellness. See if you can bring this issue to them.... and by the way ... I work in a Children's Hospital and I think your hospital's policy is excessive. The peds nurses don't need that much protection. In children's hospitals, the peds nurses don't have the luxury of avoiding the more uncomfortable experiences because there are no "adult" nurses around. The peds nurses learn to deal with it. In fact, it might be better for the kids if peds specialists did these procedures rather than calling in adult nurses who don't do them on a daily basis. I mean no insult to you or your adult nurse colleagues, but a peds nurse who performs procedures on children every day might be better -- and less traumatic for the child. It sounds like you have a system that is not optimal for the children or for the staff pulled in to help on a case where they don't know the kid. The only person who benefits from your current system is the peds nurses, who have found a way to avoid some of less pleasant aspects of their job by palming it off on you.

Man, I really felt for you reading your post. Even though you can logically explain it to yourself and others (they benefits, the whys...), Nothing like a crying kid to tug at the heartstrings Hang in there!

Quote from llgI definitely think you should be discussing this problem with some key people at your hospital. Employee assistance? - Maybe ...But what about discussing it with your manager first to let him/her know the burden and distress this practice is causing? Is there some kind of employee wellness program/committee that you could raise the issue with? Maybe even the Social Workers or Chaplain Service would be worth talking to. Most hospitals have some people or committee that deal with employee satisfaction and/or wellness. See if you can bring this issue to them.... and by the way ... I work in a Children's Hospital and I think your hospital's policy is excessive. The peds nurses don't need that much protection. In children's hospitals, the peds nurses don't have the luxury of avoiding the more uncomfortable experiences because there are no "adult" nurses around. The peds nurses learn to deal with it. In fact, it might be better for the kids if peds specialists did these procedures rather than calling in adult nurses who don't do them on a daily basis. I mean no insult to you or your adult nurse colleagues, but a peds nurse who performs procedures on children every day might be better -- and less traumatic for the child. It sounds like you have a system that is not optimal for the children or for the staff pulled in to help on a case where they don't know the kid. The only person who benefits from your current system is the peds nurses, who have found a way to avoid some of less pleasant aspects of their job by palming it off on you.

Excellent plan!