[JBudd]

Yes, I do have a "busy, but", but why are you commenting on my derrier?

[JessieRN]

I had Mr. One more thing a few weeks ago. I had 5 other patients as well, and he was on the end of the hall. About the 5 time I went to the room and heard "oh, and can you..." I handed him a pen and a peice of paper. Told him to write down his requests as he thought of them, and I would be back in one hour to pick up his list. So, we did that hourly. And it worked!

[BlueRidgeHomeRN]

On my old unit, we used to call these folks "Columbo's"..

[santhony44]

In the clinic, this is known as the Doorknob Phenomeon. You've finished with the patient, you think, and put your hand on the doorknob, to walk out of the room.

Then:
"Oh, one more thing..."
"Oh, by the way..."
"I forgot to ask you..."
"Can I ask you something..."

Generally, that's a signal that you might as well pull up a chair, you're going to be a while. It's entirely possible that you're about to hear the real reason the patient is in the clinic to start with. Everything else was window dressing, just to give the patient time to work up his or her nerve to get down to the real issue.

The complexity of the issue is usually inversely proportional to the amount of time you have to deal with it.

[RNsRWe]

Originally Posted by BinkieRN

Mr "no I don't need anything, I just need to talk to my nurse"

I enter the room, "can you get me something to drink"?

ROFL....Did I have this guy last night?? Hits the call bell, aide at the desk asks through the intercom "what can I do for you?". Answer: "I need my nurse". Aide: "Is there anything I can do for you?" Answer: "No, I just want to see my nurse". Nurse RNsRWe walks into the room (after being summoned from the medroom); patient says "Could you get me some fresh ice water?"

AARRRRGHHH!!!!

Had to clue the bugger in about how aides are completely competent in Ice Fetching Basics. Yeesh.

[RNsRWe]

I should also include in these ButWait Family scenarios, the one in which you've stripped off your isolation gown, gloves, and mask, finished handwashing at the sink one step from the hallway, only to have Mr. 'Can You Give Me My Whatever Out of My Nightstand Drawer' decide to speak.

[RNperdiem]

It has been a while, but lets not forget Mr. Click-Click. He is not verbal enough to call you, but he can make these clicking or other sounds to summon you, kind of how you might call your dog or horse.

[lvnandmomx3]

The "I don't want to bother you but"...... followed my 5-6 demands.Including changing the TV channel.

[aeauooo]

Originally Posted by RNperdiem

It has been a while, but lets not forget Mr. Click-Click. He is not verbal enough to call you, but he can make these clicking or other sounds to summon you, kind of how you might call your dog or horse.

That's universal with high-level C-spine injuries, but what are you going to do? They can't even scratch their noses.

[pagandeva2000]

Or, the family member that follows you everywhere you go, even into the other patient's room and says " My mother needs a private room so people won't intrude on her". I mean, well, you just intruded on this poor person's space, didn't you??