I am a caregiver and my boss insists I take the patient to crowded places.  Besides, he becomes confused there.  She is the kind who won't take "No" for an answer, her brother is my patient...There are 2 others who care for him.
120781
Are there any others who could have your job?  If you're doing well in taking care of him otherwise, perhaps you could say no and still keep your job.
388562
My husband had cancer, lost his job and was hospitalized 200 miles away from home to have surgery for the cancer at a major University hospital. I wanted to be with him while he was there but did not have the money to stay in a hotel for that long. I slept in my car in the parking garage for about 3 weeks. the nurses at the hospital let me shower late at night in the patients shower area. At the time I had a 1987 Camaro- small car! Not to mention that cars are going around parking all night and it was pretty cold.  When the wife of my husbands new roomate found out that I had been sleeping in my car, she offered me her hotel room, showers, meals, etc. that night in the hotel was one of the best sleeping nights that I ever had. This woman did not know me at all. We had only talked for a few minutes but she offered all of this to me. Sadly her husband passed away. My husband beat the odds. We made friends with plenty of nurses at the hospital and left our number in case someone is there with a similar situation. When they call and we are able, we send the money to pay for a night in a hotel for them. That woman truely made a huge impact on my life.
291554
Tell her this.  I told my boss this.  Said I wanted to keep my personal life FAR away from my professional life to avoid ANY kind of conflict.  (I was burned bad by a coworker once).\nHe was cool about it, and now I don't have to join them for ANYTHING.  In fact there's a going away party for a guy who transferred tonight.......am I going?  HELL NO!
97627
Can't let Ophelia just win!\n\nAs an RN you may appreciate this TRUE story that happened to me 5 years ago.  I'll try to keep it short.\n\nFell off a ladder, and was knocked cold. Ambulance takes me to the hospital.  Wife takes for ever finding me when she arrives (I gave them only part of my name). She hears me screaming out as they are checking my bleeding head wound and catches up to me.\n\nShe says 'how are you?', and I say, "Fine, wanna give me a BJ?'  Of course, she declines. ;(\n\nAs they wheel me down the hall I ask the aide his name and when he tells me, I ask for the same favor. He declined.  ;)\n\nAs they are scanning my head, I ask the tech the same questions, name and bj?  Again, declined.  \n\nFinally, I get to my room, and my nurse comes in.  Older woman fairly heavy set.  I am NOT to be deterred.  "What is your name?", I ask.  She responds Sr. Mary Margaret!\n\n"God Bless You, Sister".  (Whew)
157072
It is her job....as a retired RN, I can tell you, nurses get very stressed by extremely demanding/noncompliant patients [which your dad apparently is]...the one thing you could do, if it's financially feasible, is to hire a sitter, so he won't be on the nurses' backs so much, but if you can't, it is, after all their jobs....If he had been a parent that wasn't so difficult earlier in life, I'd say you owe him one, but by the sounds of things, you really have gone beyond the call....do not buy into any of the guilt trips people try to send your way....in my eyes, blood is NOT thicker than water!  Take care of your own self, honey...people like your dad can drain every bit life out of you & you do NOT owe him...
598792
That state of the health care system is beyond comprehension until one has witnessed or experienced it firsthand. I am so sorry for this situation. There are many things you can do to advocate for the patient's rights to care. I will research some information for you and send it through the contact system. All the best.
451153
Constant awareness of your surroundings. As the managing RN for a hospice that is home based my staff goes into some not so safe areas to care for our patients. I have told them that they must be constantly aware of their surroundings. I have also told them that if they arrive at a patient's home and the situation does not seem safe, i.e. teenage boys or men loitering around in the nieghborhood in close proximity to the home. That they are to call into the patients home and ask someone to come out to meet them. We took a safety course that the highway patrol has, an officer came and talked to my staff. He told them somethings such as: when you are shopping park as close to the store as possible, park in a well lit area after dark, never park near a van(especially on of those older type panel or conversion vans) or a large SUV(it is easier for someone to abduct a person from a vehicle like tha)t. He told us to carry our keys in a defensive manner(hold your longest key in your hand in a manner that you can use it as a weapon).Never sit your purse on the hood, roof, or trunk of your car while unloading your packages. While unloading packages into a vehicle look around you each time you remove one from the cart and place it in your vehicle. Be aware of who and what might be behind you.If someone does try to abduct you from a busy street, parking lot, etc. yell and scream and fight, most people attempting to abduct a person want to be anonymous. He said that the best chance is to fight back and fight back hard. Hope this helps.
106186
I am sorry for your loss. It is horrible and I also know that nursing homes are notorious for not taking the best care of patients. NOT all nursing homes, but certainly a great many. The same thing happened this past fall with our grandmother, if they had taken care of her the way they were suppose to have she would not have gotten as sick as she did which caused her death. We didn't pursue the matter because they are much bigger than us and the burden of proof was on us. We were not there 24 hours a day so how are to come up with proof. This kind of thing that happened with your sister happens in hospitals too, please remember that. These places harbor many many diseases and infections run rampant through both. Let it go for peace of mind and let your grief run its natural course. Again I am sorry for your loss. Take care
3710
Don't lie and say a family member is ill...it will come back to haunt you every time.  As a woman, I find it easy to have a "female" probelm of any sort, especially with a male superior.  Then they are afraid to ask too many questions.  Be vague...if you are too specific about anything, then your excuse seems too crafted.
330256
Dear Classychris,\nm not a nurse but i work with them all the time.\ntruth is in a hospital, a Doctor / Surgeon would do his job (diagnosis, surgery,prescribe med) for the patientn its upto the on duty nurse to see that everything is done meticulously.the nurses i know love their job but are exhausted cos its a major big job!\none thing i can tell U for sure... Doctors truly truly appreciate having a dependable nurse around. it makes things so much easier for everyone.\nmost patients open up to nurses cos they interact with them so much more than the docs.n a patient would usually remember the nurse a lot more than the doc too... honest!\nso if U a nurse and no one has told U yet.... Thank U for being a Nurse! Your work is truly appreciated.\ntake care
213779
I have had many patients with it, but but not in a personal sense as friend/family.\nIts really a nasty bug... the people whom I have cared for had to get wound care for a long time
79165
Most all people have some sort of mental illness. The key is are you being affected emotionally or physically by this person. If the answer to this is yes then take it from an middle aged person suffering daily from a boss and mother that are mentally ill. This has had a HUGE affect on my life and my children. So MY advice is to look for another job in an organized manner and make the move if you have any of the above issues.There are bosses that donot get off on power struggles.I have one now. BEST TO YOU.
123397
I'm a nurse and have taken care of the "living dead" also.  It is still an agonizing desicion to have to make.  It's different to care for these people and say pull the plug than it is to have known them, loved them, and say pull the plug.  There is no right answer.  Death is immenent.  The desicion is agonizing.
433214
There was a time where the situation you just wrote about could have been my fiancee writing. I've been diabetic for about 10 years now, and am only starting to take care of it now.\n   I had a lot of difficulty accepting my diabetes, didn't want to conform to the restrictions it imposed on me, didn't want to take piles of medications every day, and thought that I was tough and could just ignore it.\n    You were right to threaten him with leaving. You will have a life of sacrifice tending to his medical needs because he has refused to take care of himself. Your man can look forward to deteriorating health as complications from the diabetes multiply. If he isn't aware of the terrible things that happen to untreated diabetic patients remind him that he is risking limb amputation, blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, and other nasty side effects. \n    I hope for the both of you that he comes to his senses before it's too late. My doctor recently told me that my kidneys will begin failing in 2 years if I don't change things. I have decided to fight my diabetes, and even though that means medications and four injections a day, I am going to try to reverse the negative impact diabetes is having on me.\n     Stick to your guns and leave him if he doesn't want to take care of himself. You'll avoid a lot of suffering in the long run.
595186
I actually like my profession. But I did have an experince recently with management that made me sick to my stomach. Last week my daughter was struck crossing the road by a hit and run driver. I got a knock on the door and went to the accident scene she was being transported my EMS to the hospital and I had to go back and get my purse and car keys to follow her to the hospital. I musta been on auto pilot because I remembered to call in to work my next shift was  in two hours (I'm a nurse) I was on my cell walking to the car and the nursing supervisor answered the call. I told her someone had to cover my shift my daughter was hurt and hit by a SUV, hit and run driver. She was on the way to the hospital via ambulance and the supervisor had the gaul to ask me if someone else could go to the hospital with her. I was shocked I told her I'm a  single mom and  MY KID  was hit by a SUV I would be in the ER as a mom not nurse in the unit. Not that it really matters that I'm a single mother any mother or father for that matter shouldn't get that harrassment. My daughter's okay ,a broken vertebrae, road rash and bruises so she'll heal and I will be looking for another job soon.
338237
Doctors are to listen to their patients because many symptoms are not evident. A chat with the patient to find out what he is feeling is more accurate than drawing blood and doing all kind of tests. \nSo it seems like you have a bunch of doctors who are not listening to you or paying attention to you. I will agree you should change the hospital where you are to another. If the hospital staff behave like that, that shows the lack of professionalism in that facility. I will agree that you file charges for compensation to repay for your suffering. If they had been attentive, you would not have to undergo unnecessary pains. Seek legal recourse not only against the doctors but also the hospital. There may be others who may not survive similiar ordeals.
457342
My goodness! If you've been a caregiver for a day you  have the right to be tired! I've worked as a careaid in a psychiatric hospital for 14 years and I'm still a rookie compared to most of the other staff who work at the hospital. If you care about what you do and you obviously do, then being a caregiver requires emotional, physical and mental energy. People always ask me how I've managed to work there so long. The way that I look at it there are no guarantees in life. When I take care of my patients I always think about the fact that one day it could be me in that bed. It could be me, it could be one of my parents or any loved one of mine. I try to care for my patients in the same way that I would hope to be treated or want my loved one to be treated. Thankfully I work with a great team of people and we support each other and help each other with the tasks at hand. I don't think that I could do the job without the support of my co -workers. \nIf you are feeling lonely it sounds as though you may not have that same kind of work environment or support system in place. It's important to have some kind of outlet as well. You can't be a constant source of fuel for others without filling up your own tank on a regular basis.  You've got to remember to take care of yourself too. Do something fun on your days off. Be with people you love and can laugh with. Go easy on yourself, be good to yourself and be proud of the great job you do!