#cna

I just have to make it through this shift and I'll have off tomorrow and won't have to go back to work til 3pm Saturday. I can do it I can do it I can do it

i think a huge piece of the Why Is Everyone So Terrible To Nurses* puzzle is that we have forgotten (maybe intentionally) that there is an onus on the patient to be nice. every healthcare worker/caregiver i know will treat you either way, but you actually do owe them some amount of patience and kindness. yes they get paid to do this (not enough), yes this is their job, yes this is what they signed up for, that still isn’t permission to be mean or rude or scream or physically attack them. care workers actually have the legal right to withdraw care if it becomes too great a risk to their own safety to provide it. i get it, this might be the worst day of your life, the worst pain you’ve ever been in, the most exhausted you’ve ever felt. you know who else gets it? the 35 year old who hasn’t sat down in eight hours and just ran a code on a toddler and is now trying to get a very basic history from you at two in the morning when they haven’t eaten or gone to the bathroom their entire shift. or the 19 year old EMT who’s already been punched in the face once tonight and is just trying to get IV access so you don’t die on the way to the hospital. or the 50 year old MD who has told no fewer than three families tonight that they did everything they could but they didn’t make it and so maybe they aren’t in the mood to hear your diatribe about how terrible every doctor you’ve ever seen is. medical workers, caregivers, allied health, childcare — we will do our best no matter how you treat us because that’s our job. but fuck it would be nice to get a little grace in return.