hi i need to v*e*n*t.
one of my patients was a 86 yr old female w vascular dementia. she was incredibly confused and oriented only to herself. she was on assault precautions for hitting, slapping, kicking, and pinching staff members. despite her agitation and aggravation she was redirectable on a one to one basis. basically she was fine if someone was there to reorient her and talk to her. and the extent of the injuries on staff as result of her "assaults" were NONE zip zero. WHY!? because she was too goddamn old and fragile to hurt anyone to the extent she wanted to hurt them. throughout the shift there is this one pct who is so freaking self served, demanding, and all knowing. just who does she think she is? she kept on remarking about how this patient needs to be on "something" for her agitation. complaining the whole time to me while we were taking care of her. implying i should get on it and drug up this lady. one of my strongest beliefs regarding the elderly is to refrain from drugging them up. what will that accomplish??!?!?!? they do not deserve that kind of tx. to be shut up and put to sleep. and who knows if the next shift will continue that regimen. NOT FAIR. i had ignored her the entire time she was complaining. later i went back to explain to her my reasoning. oh and this poor pt had a fall the previous shift and i was doing hourly neurochecks as result. giving sedatives while during neurochecks is def counterproductive. and it could mask up even more serious problems that could have resulted in her fall. so what does this pct do?! she challenges me and no matter how hard i push i cannot get her to see my point of view. i was so frustrated at why this woman could not understand that my eyes started tearing up and rage came through my body. what a waste of time and exacerbation on my behalf. and lo ho and behold the pt gets a cat scan that night and she has a subdural bleed. But even that didn't shake the pct belief. i even offered my help WHENEVER and she responds with "well you weren't here and everytime she acts up you're there when she's coming down from it" oh puuuh lease ignorant woman. i was able to take time out of MY schedule and sit with the patient and even sing to her while i charted. i was a pct and i know what a huge workload it is. But the patient was manageable just as long as someone is with her. and there are two techs on my hallway. she is so freaking lazy and thinks she is the shit. plus i dont even think my patient liked her as a caregiver. bc she sucks. i hate her guts. no one ever has gotten under my skin like that in my LIFE. she really pushes my buttons. and i want to push her back. HARD and with a vengence. workplace violence is a reality.