tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6833607.post117490191083528724..comments2023-06-14T03:36:55.988-07:00Comments on Head Nurse: Walk the LineJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16520599099436383317noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6833607.post-1175206590930787142007-03-29T16:16:00.000-07:002007-03-29T16:16:00.000-07:00Your post is so true! I've seen many examples of h...Your post is so true! I've seen many examples of healthcare professionals (nurses, dietitians, physical therapists) get way too close to their patient and it has ended in disaster almost every time. I also agree 100% with your comment on how you do not date coworkers. That seems so common in hospitals and it usually causes an uncomfortable work environment which is so unfortunate, especially with how stressful work is already.<BR/>By the way, this is my first comment but I have enjoyed your blog for a while now. Thanks for all your interesting perspectives on hospital life!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6833607.post-1175036757539869542007-03-27T17:05:00.000-07:002007-03-27T17:05:00.000-07:00Ah, no worries. I figured that I hadn't gotten the...Ah, no worries. I figured that I hadn't gotten the whole episode when I asked the question in the first place. My rule of thumb is that there will always be inappropriate people, whether you end up as their nurse or sitting next to them at the bar. I don't work closely on a long-term basis with patients like you do (thank god! don't know how you do it, btw) but if something stands out as being inappropriate, I just smile, bite my tongue, and ask about the weather.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6833607.post-1174967706307306412007-03-26T21:55:00.000-07:002007-03-26T21:55:00.000-07:00It's way easier to cut somebody off at the knees a...It's way easier to cut somebody off at the knees and then later backpedal like crazy (oops) if you find out you were wrong than to let something fester into a real problem.<BR/><BR/>They're patients. Not friends. But sometimes there's a risk they could actually be an enemy.<BR/><BR/>IMHOshrimplatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08347542266047278227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6833607.post-1174947555224030992007-03-26T16:19:00.000-07:002007-03-26T16:19:00.000-07:00Hannah, I wasn't trying to imply that every psych ...Hannah, I wasn't trying to imply that every psych patient ought to be treated like a dangerous animal, really and truly. I used the overblown example of the overblown video as a starting point, kind of a "here's a really obvious example; here are some that are less obvious." Sorry if I implied anything different; I was kind of scattered when I wrote.<BR/><BR/>As for the date-asking guy, I wish he had just been trying to make normal conversation. *sigh* He'd said some things prior to that and then afterwards that prompted the Come-to-Jesus meeting we had later that week.Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16520599099436383317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6833607.post-1174946410859711212007-03-26T16:00:00.000-07:002007-03-26T16:00:00.000-07:00I spent a lot of time as a teenager on a particula...I spent a lot of time as a teenager on a particular adolescent psych ward. Over the years, I got to know many of the nurses and techs pretty well; some of the women were middle-aged, some in their early twenties. We chatted a lot about love and dating and school and jobs and families. I needed this sort of reciprocal therapeutic relationship -- through our conversations, I learned about and was later able to pattern "normal" behavior and normal relationships. Also, the simple act of having those conversations was an island of normalcy in a time when most of my life was in psychatric chaos. I am forever grateful for those ladies who treated me less like a crazy mental patient and more like a friend or daughter.<BR/><BR/>Maybe your patient who asked if you had a boyfriend was simply trying to make -what may have seemed to him- normal conversation?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com