70 secrets nurses wish they could tell you

“Using a scale of zero to ten, with ten being the worst pain you can imagine, start asking for medication when your pain gets to a four. If you let it get really bad, it’s more difficult to get it under control.” – Nancy Beck, registered nurse

“If you’re going to get blood drawn, drink two or three glasses of water beforehand. If you’re dehydrated, it’s a lot harder for us to find a vein, which means more poking with the needle.” – Mary Pat Aust, registered nurse and clinical practice specialist

“We get spoken to like slaves in the emergency department. There might be a person making a huge fuss about how long he’s waited to have a cut finger seen to while we’re dealing with a family who has just lost a family member. We’re trying to hold in anger and frustration all the time.” – Ed King

“Don’t hold your breath when you know we’re about to do something painful, like remove a tube or take the staples out of an incision. Doing that will just make it worse. Take a few deep breaths instead.” – Mary Pat Aust, registered nurse

“I’ve seen doctors perform very painful treatments without giving sedatives or pain medicine in advance, so the patient wakes up in agony. When they do order pain medicine, they’re so concerned about overdosing, they often end up under dosing.” – Nurse supervisor

“This isn’t the Hilton. Families of patients can make a lot of fuss. It happens all too often with elderly patients. A son or daughter flies in when their elderly parent falls ill and makes a noise and commotion to show how concerned they are. Once the services are in place, they dash off again leaving their parent alone.” – Endorsed enrolled nurse, day surgery unit, Sydney

“Doctors blaming nurses for mistakes – it happens all the time. But the mistakes are easily traceable. They learn very, very quickly that they can’t get away with it.” – Ed King

“When a patient doesn’t say please or thank you – that can get me off to a bad start straight away. If they continue doing it, I will tell them, ‘It would be nice to hear a please or a thank you.’” – Nurse of 16 years

“I took care of a woman who was given a dire prognosis of stomach cancer. She was told that there was nothing that could be done. She wouldn’t put up with that, found another specialist who gave her an aggressive treatment and now it’s completely gone. It’s fantastic when patients do something to help themselves.” – Nurse of 16 years

“Every baby I’ve delivered has made me marvel. Discharging a patient to go home after looking after them for ten months left me feeling I’d achieved something special. Or sitting with an elderly patient in their home knowing I’m the only person they’ll see that day or possibly that week. When we’re thanked, we know that the person genuinely means it – and that’s a bonus.” – Nurse of 20 years, Sydney