I've heard everyone on this site talking about the customer and the employee and I've been on both sides of the plate, but my customers were actually patients. Now of days patients are not called patients,or customers but clients. I guess they are still clients. I haven't been able to work in 2 years and when I was working they were customers. Sometime in the last 2 years they became clients. I had been working in x-ray for close to 40 yrs. and we've called patients a lot of different names, but client just doesn't seem to fit to me. I guess it does in some things. I have always thought of my clients as patients, because it fit for me. I have seen my share of different customers, clients and patients in all those yrs. I have seen them in all shapes sizes and mind set. Sometimes in my mind, my remark to some of them has been, Have you lost your mind? and then on 2ND thought, they probably had! I've been hit, no slugged by drunks, cussed out by furious people, pinched by little old ladies and men. I've been thrown up on, pooped on and had idiots pull their IV's out because they wanted to. Why am I saying this, well, my point is, most of them were out of their minds when they did those things. Sometimes it was by their own doing when they messed with drugs, or drank too much or decided their family or friend read an article and said they didn't need their meds. Sometimes, I've had to yell at them just to get their attention so we could do what ever it was just to help them. Family members out of the rooms would hear me yell and the only thing that saved my butt with them was because I explained that I might be yelling because of their ability to understand that I was trying to help them. I normally would keep someone with us so they could see both sides. Drunks, I would yell out because they were out of their minds and once slugged, twice yell! What I'm trying to say here is that there are always 2 sides to most stories. As an instructor (past-tense) I have seen a change in the mind set of some of the newer students. Some of these students were not younger either, but the younger ones had a different attitude. Some were in it for the passion. Some thought everything should be given to them or they tried to work you so they could get through things with out doing more than standing in the room, watching the clock to see how much longer an exam would take so that they could get me to sign them off and they could be on their way. Now, would you want someone doing anything on you besides maybe bringing you a warm blanket. Wait maybe just even a blanket. That is what I mean about the differences that I've seen. Young and old, there are all personalities with ambitions and none.
I'm sorry to have taken so much space and soapbox, LOL Bethy