70 secrets nurses wish they could tell you

“Despite nurses’ best efforts, hospitals are still filthy and full of drug-resistant germs. I don’t even bring my shoes into the house when I get home.” – Gina, a nurse who blogs at codeblog.com

“If you’re a private patient in a public hospital, don’t complain about not having a private room. The only times you’ll get one is if you’re dying or have a golden staph infection and need to be isolated. If you see a sign with MRSA, it means there’s a risk of multidrug-resistant staph. Either way, you should count your lucky stars you’re in a shared room.” – Nurse, RPA, Sydney

“No matter how many times you use your call light, even if it’s every ten minutes, I will come into your room with a smile. However, if you don’t really need help, I will go back to the nurses’ station and complain, and this may affect how the nurses on the next shift take care of you.” – Cardiac nurse, California.

“Don’t tell me you need more pain relief – I know you’ve just come back to the ward after having a cigarette.” – Nurse, RPA, Sydney

“When your provider asks for a list of the medications you’re taking, make sure you include over-the-counter drugs and herbals. People think that if an herb is ‘all natural’ and ‘organic,’ it’s not a medication. But that’s not true. Herbals can interact with other medications and can cause serious complications.” – Kristin Baird, registered nurse and health-care consultant

“I’ll have a dying patient with horrible chest pain who says nothing, because he doesn’t want to bother me. But the guy with the infected toe – he can’t leave me alone.” – Intensive-care nurse, California

“It’s frustrating to see people neglect themselves, but there’s no point reading them the riot act. One patient had a fungating wound from breast cancer that she’d hidden from her family for 18 months. How she did it I don’t know.” – Community nurse with 20 years’ experience

“If you ask me if your biopsy results have come back yet, I may say no even if they have, because the doctor is really the best person to tell you. He can answer all your questions.” – Gina, nurse who blogs at codeblog.com

“It can be intimidating when you see a doctor who is known for being a real ogre make a mistake. Yes, you want to protect your patient, but there’s always a worry: Am I asking for a verbal slap in the face?” – Linda Bell, registered nurse

“If you have a really great nurse, a note to her nurse manager that says ‘So-and-so was exceptional for this reason’ will go a long way. Those things come out in her evaluation – it’s huge.” – Linda Bell, registered nurse