Cruel Nurses at a Health Care Clinic in Santa Barbara Go Viral for Ridiculing Their Patients

When going to the doctor, one of the most important things that must be present is trust. A patient is generally in a very vulnerable state when it comes to needing medical assistance. We're not just referring to bedside manner, though that is also important, but to how you feel when chatting with a medical professional. Do you feel heard? Is the doctor or nurse taking your issues seriously? Are they giving you the time and attention you deserve?

Some experiences can be quite bad. Back in June 2015, a patient was recording a conversation with their doctor before surgery and forgot to turn off their phone before going under. They later heard the doctor mercilessly ridiculing them while they were anesthetized. This patient sued and was awarded $500,000. Fast forward a decade to when a group of nurses at the Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara are knee deep in a controversy of their own making. Here's what happened.

A TikTok featuring nurses at a Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, Calif., went viral due to the nature of its cruelty. The original poster, who goes by @angieuncut, deleted her TikTok account, but not before the video was snagged and uploaded by Kelsey Bartley. "Oops, did you try to delete this?" wrote Kelsey in the caption.

The viral TikTok began with a picture of the nurses with text over it that read, "Are patients allowed to leave you guys gifts?" That sounds fairly innocuous until you get to the next picture. A nurse in pink scrubs is bending over an examination table, giving a thumbs up over a few drops of liquid on the paper.

In the subsequent photos, other nurses are doing variations of the first shot, including one who bent down and stuck her tongue out over a larger stain left on the paper of an examination table. In each photo, the nurses are smiling while Earth, Wind, and Fire's song "September" is playing. In the final photo, the entire group is in an examination room, posing around yet another bit of medical waste left by a patient. One of the nurses is crouched over it on the table, giving prayer hands.

The comments section of the TikTok shared by Kelsey was filled with shocked and appalled people who pointed out how disgusting and disrespectful this was. One woman who claimed to be a nurse said these individuals should be ashamed of themselves and respectfully requested they find a new career. Another suggested that those with nursing licenses should be reported for violating patients' rights.

Sansum Clinic responded to the viral TikTok in a post to their Facebook and Instagram. "We share the concern raised by a recent social media post at one of our care sites and took immediate action once we became aware," said the statement. It went on to say they are conducting a full review. The original poster was a former employee, not on their payroll at the time. The nurses featured in the TikTok are on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.