Posts by Harold Taylor3

It is often said that the best defense is a good offense. 🙂
People tend to lash out—becoming aggressive, abrasive, sarcastic, or downright bitter—whenever they feel even slightly threatened.

And frankly, some individuals are so hypersensitive that they perceive a threat in just about everything.
Mature, composed people aren't easily rattled, nor do they feel the need to force their presence on others from the jump.

However, lately, I’ve been noticing an overwhelming amount of malice in social interactions. It seems many people have adopted a preemptively negative stance simply as a way to protect themselves.
I must admit, I find myself falling into this pattern too; it's become a way for me to distance myself from toxic personalities by putting up a superficial barrier of my own. After all, who in their right mind would dare provoke someone who looks ready for a fight?...

It is a fundamental flaw when someone fails to trust their own initial judgment, instead allowing some predatory influence—much like a scorpion's sting—to persuade them into changing course prematurely.
I suspect this is the core issue plaguing most people today; they simply lack any real conviction in their own reasoning or the validity of their own perspectives.

swiftcanyon64 said:I honestly think a huge chunk of the issue stems from right there. In this country, people tend to be pretty passive. Everyone just sits back and watches things happen instead of actually stepping up. If people were being held accountable and reported for their actions every single time they stepped out of line, I bet you a dime they’d start watching how they behave a lot more closely.☕

Absolutely!
I couldn't agree more.

It is particularly nauseating to witness how some individuals suddenly shift their demeanor once they realize a patient is related to someone influential.
To me, personally, that is low, ugly, and entirely unethical.

Not all nurses are inhumane, of course. There are decent people out there who genuinely want to help and possess the skills to do so. Often, it would be enough if they simply performed their duties... nothing more.

This thread is taking a strange turn; it seems like nurses and technicians are starting to show up because they recognize themselves in these descriptions.

Someone asked me here how I could possibly know my grandmother was in such a terrible state.
Well, it’s because I have eyes and a brain, and because when I went to pick her up, my grandmother was covered in feces—and so was the bedsheet.

I can't shake this growing feeling that nurses who behave so inhumanely should be forced to face public scrutiny, report directly to the hospital administrator, notify every superior in the chain of command, and speak out as loudly as possible about this systemic issue in our society.

Are we really expected to feel sorry for them just because they're doing their jobs? It’s nonsense. If they don't like it, they should quit. There are plenty of harder, more demanding jobs out there where men and women work in damp, freezing conditions on an assembly line... not to mention the millions of people struggling with unemployment.

I know people who lost limbs—an arm, a leg, or both legs—in combat, and people whose entire families were murdered, yet they aren't psychopaths; they just walk through life with dignity.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, can justify the disgrace, the arrogance, and the sheer lack of humanity displayed by certain nurses.

As far as I am concerned, I certainly won't bury my head in the sand. Fortunately, people aren't living in fear anymore; we all have a right to speak up and file complaints against disgraceful behavior. Besides, there are forums where one can openly discuss this topic.

Joseph King6 said:Well, I went ahead and took it up with the head nurse, the department chief, and even the hospital director—showing off my shredded arm as physical proof—and all they did was give me those sympathetic little nods... telling me, "Oh, she's just a bit sharp with you..." Honestly, what a joke...

"A bit sharp"?
Oh, God...
😢

Joseph King6 said:I spent a solid month stuck in a hospital bed, basically a human pincushion—constant blood draws and an IV running three times a day... By the end of it, my arm was so swollen from all the punctures you could barely recognize it. I couldn't sleep for the pain, period. So, there I am at 2:00 AM, practically losing my mind, calling my sister for help... and this nurse comes in looking absolutely livid. She just rips the IV right out of my arm. She tore the vein wide open—blood ended up everywhere... on the sheets, the wall, the floor... You really think she gave a damn about that 5% margin? Not ☕. She just gathered her things and walked out, leaving me to deal with a whole new level of agony 😠

This is bordering on a horror movie.
On a different note, I am becoming increasingly curious: is there such a thing as a formal grievance book, or some specific regulatory body we can contact regarding human demons like this nurse?
In the US, you can find a complaint log in almost any restaurant, so how is it that there isn't something similar in hospitals, where it's actually necessary?

silverhound11 said:I’ve actually noticed the exact same thing, and I’ve always had this theory running through my head—though I can't say for certain if I've hit the nail on the head, it just seems to make sense whenever I witness that kind of behavior.
It feels to me like hospitals operate under this incredibly rigid discipline and strict hierarchy, which, honestly, is understandable given that people's lives are literally in their hands. Everyone has their specific rank and level of importance within that system. Because you have these highly specialized doctors who can often come across as quite condescending, many nurses end up feeling undervalued or overlooked. It seems they vent those built-up frustrations on the only people they actually can without risking their livelihood—the patients.
To be perfectly honest, I don't think I've ever met a nurse who truly seemed happy with their job or even genuinely passionate about being there, which probably just adds another layer of frustration to the whole situation.

There might be some truth to what you're saying. I have observed that specialists generally maintain a much more decent and humane rapport with patients than the nursing staff does.
A friend of mine, who teaches general subjects at a vocational medical school, tells me the exact same thing; she describes her students as being, to put it mildly, a total disaster, repeatedly warning them that she wouldn't want to end up in their hands if she ever found herself in a hospital.
Their pay isn't exactly meager either; especially nowadays when most wages are quite low, their compensation is more than solid, particularly once you factor in the overtime and holiday shifts...

Joseph King6 said:I find myself wondering about this too... I’ve spent more than my fair share of time lying in hospital beds—sometimes for months at a time—and not once, and I mean never, was anyone particularly kind to me or anyone else for that matter. Honestly, I don't care if their job is exhausting or if the pay is lousy... they knew exactly what they were signing up for when they finished their training... it’s just tragic, really, when someone whose entire job description is based on being human and helping others acts like that.

From snapping at patients, to refusing to change the linens (unless it’s 5 AM when they absolutely have to), to neglecting to change diapers for bedridden patients. Or just completely ignoring the call button because they're too busy watching soap operas or whatever...

I suspect many people here can relate to this topic and might have something to contribute. Personally, I would love to see much more public discourse and reporting on this, because the cruelty displayed by medical staff has reached alarming proportions.

It might sound harsh, but it feels as though some of these individuals almost take pleasure in being callous.

About a year ago, caregivers at a facility for the developmentally disabled posted photos of their residents on Facebook just to mock them publicly.
In my view, that is completely abnormal, and if we lived in a slightly more compassionate society, they would have been fired immediately.

This has likely been discussed before, but I felt compelled to start this thread to address an issue that has become far too common following my grandmother's recent surgery.
Following her procedure, she was unable to get up, wash herself, or even reach the restroom, yet the nurses quite literally left her sitting there, filthy and covered in waste, as if it were intentional.
They didn't even bother to change her catheter in a timely manner.
On top of that blatant neglect, they spoke to her with such a degrading attitude, driving an already frail and elderly woman into an even deeper state of depression.
To be clear, my grandmother was at a 62 miles rural hospital out in the Midwest, so I couldn't visit her every day—only once a week—but when we finally came to pick her up, she was soiled, unwashed, and I am not exaggerating when I say she was on the very brink of giving up on life entirely.

At the same time, my uncle also ended up hospitalized before he passed away; he was immobile, and once again, the sheer cruelty of the nursing staff became painfully apparent.

I find myself wondering how it is possible that staff members, who should be held to the highest standards of human compassion by virtue of their profession, can exhibit such an overwhelming amount of malice.
I experienced this same harsh treatment from nurses firsthand just a few months ago after undergoing my own surgery.
And keep in mind, I am talking about three different hospitals in three different cities, which leads me to believe that this is a systemic issue across many hospitals nationwide.

As for my uncle, no one even bothered to check on him while he lay there, helpless and dying... and he was a relatively young man.

Is there some sort of psychological explanation for why medical technicians and nurses behave this way?