Nurses' role in the lives of people with Crohn's

[UnXmas]

I've just spent a couple of weeks in hospital - one of many hospital stays. It made me realise how wonderful so many nurses are. Every single nurse I interacted with during my stay was incredibly kind, hard working and caring. They were fantastic at dealing with all the embarrassing symptoms that come with this disease and with helping me with my new stoma. They did everything they could to keep me comfortable, including talking to me when I was awake all night and unable to sleep. When I needed their help to shower or use the loo, they never once made me feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. My stoma nurse has been particularly excellent too. They made my hospital stay bearable.

I think doctors get a lot of credit for helping us with our health problems that nurses don't generally receive; doctors get a lot of criticism too, but nurses just don't seem to be mentioned as much at all. Unlike doctors, who you see for a ten minute appointment or who pop in for two minutes in the morning on ward round, nurses are always on hand to answer questions or help you when you're in hospital. Purely due to the fact that they are there while doctors are unreachable, the nurses end up doing a lot of the doctors' roles - e.g. explaining what medications are for, advising on what to eat or not eat after surgery, or just passing on messages, contacting doctors on patients' behalves and talking to patients' families and friends.

There have been quite a few threads on this forum where individual doctors are criticised or praised, I just wanted to acknowledge the role nurses play in the lives of those with Crohn's who have to be admitted to hospital. I've known bad nurses too, but they've been a definite minority. I wondered what other people's experiences with nurses have been like - Have they helped you? Do they understand Crohn's disease? Have they impacted on your hospital experiences?

 

[JustAYoungLad]

I've been in hospital a few times now for long stays and the nurses have always been amazing. I've seen how hard it is for them, having to manage a large amount of patients and still be happy to help.

I came out of surgery and finally got on to the ward around 1am in the morning and the nurse on the ward setup TPN for me, even though it was the middle of the night. They make staying in hospital much easier. I think they go above and beyond what they need to do. I always leave a thank card for the nurses on the ward as they do so much. It's only a small thing but they really appreciate it.

Not to derail this thread from praise but...

It's a shame, in the UK at the moment the nurses are getting reduced, and asked to get degree courses (in their own time) to stay as sisters. I saw it happening when I was in hospital, nurses right now are getting letters that say they are getting moved from their teams to other wards or they can stay and they get their rank reduce (less pay), which I think is awful.

 

[UnXmas]

I've been in hospital a few times now for long stays and the nurses have always been amazing. I've seen how hard it is for them, having to manage a large amount of patients and still be happy to help.

I came out of surgery and finally got on to the ward around 1am in the morning and the nurse on the ward setup TPN for me, even though it was the middle of the night. They make staying in hospital much easier. I think they go above and beyond what they need to do. I always leave a thank card for the nurses on the ward as they do so much. It's only a small thing but they really appreciate it.

Not to derail this thread from praise but...

It's a shame, in the UK at the moment the nurses are getting reduced, and asked to get degree courses (in their own time) to stay as sisters. I saw it happening when I was in hospital, nurses right now are getting letters that say they are getting moved from their teams to other wards or they can stay and they get their rank reduce (less pay), which I think is awful.

I left a box of chocolates for the nurses on my ward, and a card for one who in particular went above and beyond to make me comfortable.

You're right about the unfairness of nurses' working conditions. Some of the nurses on my ward were discussing their pay - and I couldn't help thinking that it's nothing compared to what some doctors earn, and yet nurses are doing so many specialised medical tasks, working night shifts, incredibly physical work, etc. etc.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

I have found it to be a mixed bag, there are amazing nurses who really were very loving and compassionate and made me feel very cared for and others who wouldn't come back with something I need or who took forever to answer the call button.

My worst experience was when I pooped myself before my ostomy and I ran to the hallway asking the nurse for a new gown and she just pointed to it and told me to go get it myself. She later came in my room and I said sorry if I seemed frantic but I kept pooping myself and she laughed hysterically saying that I **** myself like a baby. I could have gotten that ____ fired but I was too sick to bother.

It's really hard when you are totally sick and in other peoples hands. Most nurses were not happy to deal with my stoma and they kept ringing for the ostomy nurse but some were really great about it.

 

[fee_fi_fo_feena]

My GI doctor's nurse is amazing...whenever I need something, she takes care of it immediately. When I was unsure whether I should go to the ER, it was a day the doctor was doing procedures all morning and she alerted him between procedures to what was going on and he called me within 20 minutes of getting off the phone with her. I am a nurse for the same organization she is, so I know it is partly ~just doing your job~ but I know how much a thank you can make me forget all the patients who seemed to not care about what I do, so I always try to recognize good nurses that I come across.

 

[Goddess]

Cards and candy (or coupons for midnight pizza!) are appreciated, and I always fill out the hospital's comment cards very completely, with names and specific examples for the good nurses (very often they are all excellent), and if there are any that were so unpleasant that it's really bugging me, I phone up the nursing coordinator and ask them to drop by and chat with me for a couple of minutes. Generally what happens is that they get shifted elsewhere for a few days until I'm gone, and the coordinator's prepared in case of a future problem with another patient.

Providing the balance falls on the praise-and-gratitude side, this can work very well. Nice for the good nurses to have positive patient comments in their personnel files, and gives them some perspective when there's a difficult patient.

If I EVER had a nurse treat me as incredibly unprofessionally as that one treated nogutsnoglory, I'd get my clean gown, help myself into it, and be on the phone to the nursing coordinator.

 

[UnXmas]

I have found it to be a mixed bag, there are amazing nurses who really were very loving and compassionate and made me feel very cared for and others who wouldn't come back with something I need or who took forever to answer the call button.

My worst experience was when I pooped myself before my ostomy and I ran to the hallway asking the nurse for a new gown and she just pointed to it and told me to go get it myself. She later came in my room and I said sorry if I seemed frantic but I kept pooping myself and she laughed hysterically saying that I **** myself like a baby. I could have gotten that ____ fired but I was too sick to bother.

It's really hard when you are totally sick and in other peoples hands. Most nurses were not happy to deal with my stoma and they kept ringing for the ostomy nurse but some were really great about it.

I'm so sorry that happened to you. I've had some terrible experiences with doctors, but not nearly so much with nurses. The nurses taking care of me were only to happy to help me with my new stoma - they needed to measure the output (once it finally started working), so I was instructed to ring for a nurse each time it needed emptying, and they were always happy to. They did take a long time answering patients' buzzers sometimes, but this was because there were far too few of them covering the ward. When they'd help me or any other patient to the loo, they'd always ask if we needed a clean incontinence pad; it was a ward for gastro/colorectal surgery patients, and the offer of incontinence pads seemed to be the routine. What type of ward were you on?

Do you think they didn't get your need for continence pads because you're young? One time when I was going through pre-op questions, and you could tell they were geared towards elderly patients - Have you recently had a fall? Do you have dentures? Do you reside in a care home? etc. - and I was going through most of them saying, that doesn't apply to me. When we got to "Are you incontinent ?", the nurse automatically checked that I wasn't before I had a chance to answer. When I told her actually, I do have problems with continence, she was very surprised. I think that only certain medical professionals really understand incontinence, and others - like the majority of the population - assume it's something that only affects elderly patients with dementia. They just don't associate it with the young, even when they know the person has bowel or bladder problems.

I get what you mean about being dependent on people though. I was so sick this last hospital stay, I actually reached a point where I was frightened if a nurse wasn't around, and wouldn't try getting out of bed without a nurse helping because I felt so unsafe. As I got better, the fear dissipated, but I'd not felt that dependent on nurses before, and mentally, I don't think I was in a good place.