Being a female dominated profession, nursing has quite a few new mothers. A couple of them are abusing the law to their advantage. The PUMP Act states that women must be permitted breaks so that they can be milked like a cow, and boy are some of them milking it.
While at work, I was instructed to cover one of these women’s patients while she went to go pump. She was gone for 2 hours. When she returned, she was only back for half an hour before she took a lunch break. After returning from that, she went to go pump again for another hour and a half. In all, she was off the floor for over 5 hours out of her 12 hour shift. When we told her that we thought she was taking too long, with even another woman telling her that it doesn’t take that long to pump, she replied that she can go as often and for as long as she deems necessary.
So we went to supervision to complain. They explained to us that there is nothing that they can do. Apparently, they had spoken to her about it, only to get a phone call from her lawyer the next day. So hands off. It’s so bad, that they are now afraid of her:
Last week, while I was covering her patients, I walked into the room of one of them to find a woman covered in blood, with large blood clots on the bed. She had a pulse of 120 and was complaining of belly pain. She had been lying there for over 2 hours like that. I intervened and went to the doctor. Turns out it was coming from her bladder, and I measured more than a liter of blood loss.
I got the patient straightened out before the nurse returned. About an hour later, I noticed on the telemetry board that the patient had a blood pressure of 80/50 and a heart rate of 120. I spoke to her and she told me that the patient would be fine. I went over her head to the charge nurse. Yeah, I dropped a dime on her.
The woman was taken to emergency surgery. The nurse? Nothing happened to her.
The very next day, same nurse had placed a patient on 2 liters of oxygen. The patient was in obvious distress with an O2 saturation of 78%. Another nurse saw this, took over care, called respiratory, and had the patient placed on BiPAP. Again, no repercussions for nurse slacker’s complete lack of anything competent.
I have told the charge nurse that I will not be placing my name anywhere on that nurse’s chart and refuse to watch over her patients while she is off the floor. I am not risking my medical license for that incompetent, lazy slacker of a nurse. You can’t make me assume care for someone else’s patients, especially when I already have 3 or 4 patients of my own.
15 Comments
Aesop · January 16, 2025 at 5:03 am
You already know this, but your state’s Nursing Board (which probably has a 1-800 whistleblower line) will give exactly zero fucks about such life-threatening lapses in nursing care, and suspend or revoke her right to practice overnight if necessary. Then the hospital just sits back and says “Not our fault. No license? You’re fired.”
That will not be the tit in a ringer she thought she was going to get.
But it will be twice as funny.
Joe Blow · January 16, 2025 at 6:13 am
I think it was on EatonRapidsJoe’s blog I read first about the great enshittening that will be happening everywhere, in every trade, affecting everything.
We must repeal the 19th! It sounds crazy, because that’s what you’ve been told to think, but you know it’s not wrong….
Boneman · January 16, 2025 at 6:16 am
I think what’s she is probably doing is making up for the gender gap in pay… by reducing the actual number of hours she is actually WORKING… so that in effect her hourly rate goes UP?
IF… I had been a family member of said patient you were describing w the bladder bleed, etc., and I got wind of this idiot’s utterly offhanded way of “managing” care, I think I would ensure that she were removed from the case. Possibly even from the facility. PREFERABLY from the profession entirely.
PHYSICALLY if need be.
As to your strategy of distancing, I fully agree and understand. Sadly… VERY sadly, it will not end well for someone. In fact, pursuant to events described, it could end tragically.
Oh… and the “women can be milked like a cow” statement… took me back 60 years to a class trip to “Walker Gordon Farms” in New Jersey… where we (kindergarteners at the time) got to see cows on a “Milking Line”
I did get a graphic.
I did almost pass an entire cup of coffee through my nose as a result.
BRAVO.
Gandalf · January 16, 2025 at 6:24 am
Dayam it sounds dangerous, H/T for catching the woman with the clots.
Had real pro nurses for my recent stay, including one Asian goddess who knew several languages.
They are building a brand new hospital with building going on in winter.
It is affiliated with the big state college.
oldvet50 · January 16, 2025 at 7:56 am
It’s stories like these that reinforce my belief that the only reliable healthcare you can receive is to have a doctor in the family (and not have a dysfunctional one). I also avoid any medications that have not been on the market for at least ten years, and even that is not foolproof – I almost died after taking Niacin!
Skyler the Weird · January 16, 2025 at 12:32 pm
I also try to avoid any medication advertised on TV.
Grumpy51 · January 17, 2025 at 12:52 am
My first attending doc taught me to never prescribe gor any medicine that had not been out for at least 5 years….. and that was in 1997….
Anyone remember Rezulin?? Bextra??? Vioxx?? Zantac (the original version)??
There’s a reason why time is needed….
Boneman · January 17, 2025 at 7:05 am
I sincerely hope that your reaction was NOT Stevens Johnson Syndrome. It can be caused by ANYTHING… Happened to my daughter. FIRST instance the mortality rate is 50%. Happens to her again the chance of surviving it is only 20% Her trigger was Zithromax.
Fortunately, before I was able to visit her (in the BURN unit) I ha an idea of what I was in for.
Henry · January 16, 2025 at 8:39 am
In most corporate environments, and I imagine this applies to large hospitals as well, the only way to dismiss an underperforming (the diplomatic term) employee, especially one who checks at least one box in the protected class hierarchy, is to methodically build a bulletproof list of each and every failure. At some point, HR will deem the list sufficient to survive a lawsuit, and the employee can be dismissed. But heaven help you if you miss even one tiny HR requirement …
ModernDayJeremiah · January 16, 2025 at 8:52 am
Was Nurse Slacker vibrant? And diverse?
Divemedic · January 16, 2025 at 8:56 am
Surprisingly, no.
Wilson · January 16, 2025 at 12:51 pm
And yet the hospital will charge the same for poor care , hell, maybe more because now the patient requires more care,IMHO !
Divemedic · January 16, 2025 at 3:48 pm
In many cases, the hospital is required to eat it
SoCoRuss · January 16, 2025 at 1:33 pm
For fun if the guy that attacked you and the preggo doctor ever comes back, make sure he gets this Karen so he gets the best care he deserves of course.
BTW, inquiring minds wants to know. Is she a diversity hire?
Stefan v. · January 16, 2025 at 3:51 pm
A matching pair of broken legs, by mysterious unattributable means, would be a win-win….off work, lots of sitting time to suckle babe, less chance of dead patient. Just don’t harm them titties…
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