haters.

people are such evil little witch-hunters.  what is it about the public at large trying to find new and engaging ways to hate healthcare?  i feel like i'm screwed before i even walk in a patient's room because now everyone is "educated" and thinks that they know more about my job than i do.

i got talked to by management yesterday because a patient's granddaughter complained that i didn't wear gloves when i touched him.  i'm sorry, i missed the memo that i was no longer able to touch another human being without a protective layer.  apparently granddaughter missed the issue of Reader's Digest that explains that gloves protect ME from YOU and not the other way around.  so if i want to use my bare hands to check radial pulses STEP OFF ME.  you just watched me wash my hands like a good little solider, what else do you want from me?

and then i came home and read this, which pissed me off even more.  you, ryan from buzzfeed, are a hater, and from the tone of your article you would think that this doctor took pictures of dead babies and put them on her newsfeed.  it's obvious to me that this doctor is frustrated taking care of people that are rude and entitled and is only putting up with this patient so her next baby doesn't die.

and was it the smartest thing to go there on facebook?  no, probably not.  but that doesn't mean that she should get fired and stripped of her license and burned at the stake like all the internet crazies are demanding.

not to mention the fact that these weirdos who are so worked up about "HIPAA violations!!" and "breach of patient privacy!!" have taken a story that would have stayed local and plastered it up all over the internet, greatly increasing the number of people who know all about this woman.  except, of course, for the fact that ALL WE KNOW ABOUT THIS WOMAN IS THAT SHE HAD A STILLBIRTH AND IS CHRONICALLY LATE.

but maybe i'm a little sensitive on the subject.  because i've been there.  a few years ago one of my coworkers posted a quote from a patient when we had a bunch of prisoner patients on the floor.  the little old man kept seeing officers walk by his room, and asked the nurse "is this a hospital or a jail?".  i commented back saying something about how half of our patients come from jail, and several days later ended up getting hauled into HR and read the riot act.

keep in mind that i do not have any affiliation with my employer on facebook, and that i did not say anything about a specific patient, and that this was not even on my profile.

yet this cost me 6 months "in discipline" and will sit forever in my file.  because my comments were "unprofessional and people reading them could think that you would give this patient population poor care".

three years later, and i am still livid.  having and voicing frustrations and opinions does not make me evil, and it doesn't make Amy Dunbar evil either.  you can bet i've learned never to say a word about work on facebook again, and i think that we can all probably assume that Dr. Dunbar has learned the same.

so move along, healthcare haters.  move along.