I'm unforgettable.

White and grey coloured pencils on A4 black paper. 

Ron

Voting blue in 2018 is to make it less immediately threatening for PoC, LGBT+ people, the disabled, and any other marginalized demographic. It’s a stopgap against Republicans who are aligned with Nazis, white supremacists, and sexual abusers.

Correcting politics in the United States is going to take decades of new voters staying on top of politics and not falling prey to apathy, like our predecessors. 

1. Thy family member shall realize the nurse is present and responsible to careth for only the patient, not thy family member. Therefore, thy family member shalt not make demands of thy nursing staff for blankets, pillows, drinks, etc. etc.

2. Thou shalt not demand the nurse call thy doctor every minute.

3. Thou shalt not ever expel any bodily fluid onto the person of thy nurse.

4. Thou shalt not act like thou knows better than the teams of doctors and nurses caring for thou self. Therefore, thou shalt not refuse treatments or go against medical advice. If thou doth so, thou shalt go the fuck home.

5. Thou shalt not complain about light & noise in the ICU. Thou art in the ICU, be grateful thou art alive and can see and hear.

6. Thou shalt not fall in the hospital. Repeateth, thou shalt not fucking fall.

7. Thou shalt realize this is a hospital not a hotel.

8. Thou shalt not ask about thy nurse’s age or martial status.

9. Thy family members shalt not stare at the monitor and worrieth over every number. Thy nurse is present and seeth the monitor. Thy nurses also have the medical training and knowledge to asses and act based on thy monitor and thy patient, unlike thy family member. Thou input is neededth not and is in fact, annoying and distracting.

10. Thou shalt not harass thy nurse for refreshments and narcotics. RN standeth not for these things.

11. Thou shalt never attempt to hit, punch or otherwise harm thy nurse. Thou will find thyself restrained if thou threatens thy medical staff.

Sorry, but this point is BS. If you are the least bit curious and serious about your autonomy and bodily integrity, you seek information and you ask as many questions as you need. And if you catch a doctor spewing outdated BS, you call them out, even if it seems arrogant. I’ve seen doctors and nurses saying or doing things that are simply wrong too many times. Sometimes it’s relatively inconsequential things (”there’s no kind of treatment for couprose”, “it’s unhygienic to not shave your pubic hair”), sometimes it’s outrageous and/or abusive behaviour (putting their weight on a pregnant woman’s body to make her birth faster, ignoring very severe indicators of heart disease, which in the case I know directly contributed to someone’s early death). And I happen to know some very troubling stats (e.g., episiotomies, hand washing).

There is a misunderstanding of what that point means. YES you are absolutely, entitled to informed consent. The only exception to this I see is in true life/death emergencies where the patient is unconscious and efforts to reach family members have not been successful. In that instance it is up to the TEAM of healthcare providers to make the best, safest, and most appropriate care decision. In every other scenario, yes gather information, speak with care providers to decide what’s right for you. Shave, wax, laser, dye, braid, don’t shave your pubic hair. I COULD NOT CARE LESS. That is not what the point was about. It is not about patients that refuse their stool softeners or a blood draw.

I’m sure most healthcare providers who read this have encountered a type of patient that comes into the hospital to refuse 90% of prescribed treatments, for no logical reason. The ones that leave you scratching your head wondering why they came in in the first place if this is their M.O.

I work in critical care in a large hospital in a large city, those emergency situations occur everyday. One of several hospitals in the area that treat thousands of patients a day. There is ALWAYS another patient needing to be admitted. That means RESOURCES. So while Patient A sits in that hospital bed refusing care and treatments taking time, energy, and thought away from other admitted individuals there is always Patient B who needs that bed and would gladly accept that care and treatment.

I find it unethical to my very core to not be able to help Patient B, not to mention the other admitted individuals that get less because someone is contrary (also this is not referring to patients who are confused/unable to control their emotions/thoughts/actions).

YOU ARE ALLOWED TO LEAVE. I will get you the form and have you out of here in under 10 minutes. Then I will help the next person.