I am still me

Well put As a rehab nurse, I make a point to talk to my patients, not over them or to their families only, and to call them by their names...

This is a beautifully written, from the heart letter. I would like your permission to share it with my staff and on my facebook...I always tell my peers to place themselves in the client's shoes. I have less "combativeness" from my patients than others, because I treat people with dignity. I remember to tell them "I am your nurse Laurene, and you are in the hospital...." Thank you for this

Thank you very much!! And yes, you can share it. I wrote this because now I see things very differently as a nurse than I did as a CNA. When you are working as a CNA, you have a lot more hands on and one on one with the resident than you do when you are a nurse. I constantly remind staff to put themselves in their shoes. One day, things really hit home for alot of the staff when had a 39yr client that was admitted for permnament placement after suffering from a stroke that was secondary resulting from a fall out of a tree. One day the client was holding their 4yr child and the next, is now 100% dependant for their ADL's. It really puts things into perspective.

Dear Blessed,Thank you for your story. Well written and heart wrenching. It is good to hear what it is really like from the other side. I went through similar treatment when my mom was ill, watching her be treated like a commodity in a bed. Thank you for saying what was in my heart at that time.

Your story was a stab in my heart. You have described, in detail, my greatest fear. Thank you for sharing your difficult experience with us. It reminds us to treat patients the way we would want to be treated. I wish you good luck and good health.:heartbeat

Bless you! Splendid. ANd bless Mary the case worker who did what everyone is entitled to.

So sorry you had to go through all this. How are you now?I sometimes find I'm praying that some person who is being insensitive will come to know, from personal experience, about pain, helplessness, and other of life's more miserable, fearful experiences. Experience is the best teacher.Thank you for sharing your difficult experience and I hope you are much healthier now.

I really need to clarify. This story is just that...a story. It is not about me personally. I have worked in LTC for 12years now and I got this story from the residents that I have cared for over those years. Some residents voice their feelings while others are not able to. They hold your hand and look into your eyes as if they expect you to read their mind. I had one resident recently (probably the one who inspired me to write this) that suffered a massive stroke while at work one day. At first she was diagnosed with dementia among other diagnosises. The more I worked with her, the more I became to realize that she was still there...she could understand everything that was going on. She was in no way in any way confused. She was however, nonverbal. If she did speak it was, like "Sara", gibberish. I fought hard for her because no one would believe me at first that she did not have dementia. It took me two whole months before someone started to believe me. She had been so frustrated because she lost the most basic thing we have...the ability to communicate. I wrote this for other nurses and aides...basically any one in the healthcare field. Too many times, our residents, our patients, are treated like a dollar sign or just another patient. THere is rarely any compassion. Nurses and doctors are overworked and understaffed. We are so worried about making sure we finish the med pass in a timely manner along with the 100 other things we do in a 8 or 12hr shift. It is almost impossible to stop and talk with resident or give them something so basic..human compassion. Its pounded and pounded in our heads that "this is their home..respect their home" and yet most LTC's are run like a factory and the residents are just one more "product". I just wrote this one night, submitted it to my employer's newsletter and recieved a lot of unexpected support. That is when I thought I would share it on here. I am so sorry that I mislead everyone..that was no way in any way my intentions.

You were not misleading at all! I am astounded, as I am sure everyone else is in reading this, that this did NOT happen to you - it is incredibly realistic! BRAVO!! Every first semester nursing student and every CNA in training should receive a copy of this. Thank you for sharing it here!

The BEST! So heart felt and and heart warming. Thank you for sharing...I agree, sometimes WE forget..I hate the talking 'Over" a person instead of talking "To" a person..they are just that..People!...Thank you for the well written article...

Very well done! I think this is a great fear of all of us who have seen patients like this. It makes me wonder have I ever said anything to make a patient feel dehumanized? Oh I hope not...

Blessedmomma27 - you have said it all. It is painful to read. It is painful to accept what happened to the woman in this story is what is going on as we speak. It needs to change. It must change. Thank you for shining a bright light on what really goes on in many of our Nursing Homes. God Bless You.