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Making Connections
One thing I find myself struggling with is making connections, or at least meaningful ones. Throughout my life I’ve had countless caregivers come and go. So many I honestly don’t remember them all. More people have probably seen me naked than a Tuesday stripper. Sure, I have a handful of long term care givers. I still feel like it’s more of a job than a friendship though. In the past I probably put in more effort making a personal connection, but since it’s most likely temporary I find it not worth the effort these days. It’s not that I have anything against making connections, it’s just a lot of energy for not a lot of return.
Case in point, I have another new nurse. To be honest I already forgot her name. Nicole maybe? No, that doesn’t sound right. Anyway, I got the vibe this isn’t her dream job. I’m guessing her time with the agency will be short lived. While she’s here I answer the list of questions regarding my last bowel movement, pain levels and attest I haven’t fallen. Keeping it friendly I engage in small talk, but I really don’t care what brought her to the area. I just don’t want to brave the elements for my depo injection.
Same story with the wheelchair guy. Finally I got someone scheduled to make some adjustments. Of course I’ve never seen him before, so have to explain my issues from scratch, again. In the end I still have the same armrests I HATE, still don’t like my joystick mount and don’t like how it drives. At least we made a few adjustments. He went back with a list of things to check on. It’ll be interesting to see what transpires. It’ll be more interesting to see who I hear from. Most likely I’ll have to contact them and start from scratch yet again.
Do you find it easy to make connections? Is it worth the effort?
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2 Replies
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I share your frustrations DeAnn. I too have a nurse who makes it so obvious that she would rather be doing something else other than nursing.
The good thing is that starting Jan. 1st, my state is raising the pay for Private Duty Nurses (PDN) by over $5. Hundreds of people, including myself, had to fight tooth and nail to get this raise.
Hopefully it will help entice PDN nurses in my state to stay longer.
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That’s awesome Ari. Thanks for your advocacy. I hope other states follow suit to increase wages for our direct support workers. Proper compensation would help immensely.
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