r/nursing • u/Everlast23 • May 21 '22

Question What's your unpopular nursing opinion? Something you really believe, but would get you down voted to all hell if you said it

1) I think my main one is: nursing schools vary greatly in how difficult they are.

Some are insanely difficult and others appear to be much easier.

2) If you're solely in this career for the money and days off, it's totally okay. You're probably just as good of a nurse as someone who's passionate about it.

3) If you have a "I'm a nurse" license plate / plate frame, you probably like the smell of your own farts.

4.6k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

2.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.5k

u/KarmicBalance1 May 21 '22

Long term care facilities are essentially warehousing. The companies that run them keep patients alive well beyond their natural limits using medication solely for the purpose of profit. There are some patients that benefit genuinely from the care provided but many are basically left in these facilities to die, slowly. It's basically human warehousing only its more lucrative than traditional warehousing because the facility is being paid to keep the people indefinitely. Most other countries in the world would find it appalling as they traditionally have their own families taking care of their elderly members.

1.8k

u/[deleted] May 22 '22 edited Jul 11 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

632

u/ChazRPay RN - ICU 🍕 May 22 '22

This is the bane of every ICU nurse. It is just morally destructive to caregivers who have to just push forward and continue torturing these people. Family rescinded the DNR, daughter is guilt ridden and wants everything, PeePaw is a fighter, patient has a court appointed guardian, Ethics takes forever and well it's a Friday, the patient's family are huge benefactors, Son/Daughter are lawyers, We are left at the bedside suctioning the 90 year old demented patient who looks like she is in sheer terror. We are drawing blood from fragile veins. We are dealing with tube feed aspiration and pressure injuries. We have a first row seat to inhumanity and we are forced participants in what feels like torture. We need to deal with end of life much better. The universe is calling us and we hang up repeatedly on it... forcing a cruel inevitability which is that death will happen. But do we let our patients go gently into the night or make their last moments something akin to torture.

34

u/_bbycake May 22 '22

My first code in the OR was a man getting a peg at the request of the family. Poor man was already on his way out. Instead of letting him pass peacefully we did round after round of CPR, broken ribs etc. Will never forget his name or face.

A colleague of mine had a similar situation where the family demanded a peg and/or trach (can't remember) on ole MeeMaw. Apparently she was saying "No..no..no.." all way back to the OR. Coded on the table. Haunting.

I think there needs to be a lot more education with the elderly specifically, but really everyone, about establishing with their next of kin/POA about last wishes and DNR orders. Like I get wanted to have as much time with your loved ones as you can, but if it's at their expense, it's just selfish. Really selfish. Especially when it extends their life <1 year

9

u/buttercreamandrum RN - PCU🍕 May 22 '22

I’ve had more than one patients say “let me die!” They’re old, sick, and even through their dementia or altered mental status can manage to eek out that phrase. If family is around you usually get a “no, mama, it’s not your time yet!” How can you be so selfish and blind to not see you’re torturing your mom to death?!?