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Revolving Nurses
Over the years I’ve come to learn the healthcare industry has high turnover rates. Especially when it comes to personal care and nursing. To be honest I wouldn’t recognize all the PCA’s I’ve had in my lifetime. I’ve come to terms with that, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy.
As far as skilled nursing care I really don’t need a lot. I have a nurse come out once a month to do the routine checks, toenail care and dispense my depo shot when it’s due. Although it saves me a trip to the doctors office, I’m debating if it’s worth it. Over the last few months it’s been a new nurse every time. They go down their checklist entering data likely never to be seen again. It’s difficult to talk about bowel movements to someone you’ve never met. How do I know if they actually know how to trim nails? Will they say something offensive about my purple potato feet? Why should I open myself up when it’s likely I’ll never see them again.
The redundancy between agencies gets on my nerves as well. My county renews my services every year. Surprise surprise, they went through the same stupid checklist as the nurse just three days earlier. Another shocker, it’s someone I’ve never met. Plus she’s not even the one who is going to be assigned my case manager. Excuse me if I’m a bit standoffish. I rely on these services, so I do my best not to be snippy. With a forced smile on my face I say my last bowel movement was yesterday, recite the months backwards and say I have no pain (even though my shoes are killing me.)
How do you guys deal with revolving nurses? Does it bother you? Unfortunately I don’t have a solution.
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1 Reply
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I don’t think I could have said that any better! I have nurses quite a bit more frequently, but still have the same problem. I’m lucky to have two nurses who have been with me for a very long time, but people like them are rare. I’m usually surprised when they stay for more than a few months. Some decide they don’t want to work here right after they finish their training. This is especially frustrating, particularly because of the level of care I need. I invite near strangers into my home and they are witness to every of my day including private things like showering, and then they are gone never to be heard from again. I wish I could offer a solution, but I’m still looking for one myself.
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