Do you ever forget your patient's names?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Home Health.

Last night a doc asked me how mr so/and/so was doing. For the life of me, the name did not ring a bell. I felt so stupid. He looked at me and said, "well, if you manage to find him tonight, then maybe you can take care of him". Now this doc is also MY family doc and is usually nice to me. But he caught me off guard, I had only been on shift for about an hour. I am sooooo bad with names. I usually refer to them as a room number, and yes I know that is so impersonal. Anyone else?

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Uh......no................maybe I'm harsh but while it's common to refer to our pts by the room number or diagnosis amongst ourselves, it is not a good thing to forget the pts' names....................

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Hell, I forget my patients names all the time. I don't feel bad about it at all. We change patients so often that sometimes it is hard to remember their names.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Home Health.

I know, but I go thru approximately 3 admits with discharges and usually have 10 patients. Like I said, I had only been on shift for 1 hour. And referring to them as room number is only between me and the other co-workers. I always know their name when passing meds because I take their MARS with me to their room with the meds. I am very personal with them, just have a hard time with remembering so many names. I have about 15 or more to know in a shift. I was just wondering if anyone else ever has this happen. Now I feel bad

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I have forgotten pts names. I am human, I will admit. Don't like it when it happens but it does.

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Specializes in IMC, ICU, Telemetry.

I hear ya. Before I became a nurse, I thought I'd never be one that used pet names when speaking to a patient, but when I get stuck, that's what I do. (I like using "friend" or "pal" with my male pts, and of course revert to "dear" with my LOL's). I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I sometimes refer to "the CVA in 42". I'm a spacial person, so it's easier to make those associations than names & faces. It seems I'm just getting the hang of it and getting everyone's name by the 11th hour - just when I'm wrapping up and preparing to go.

To overcome this, I write my pts last name & rm number on my brain sheet and take a peek at it before entering the room - so I can use Mr or Ms so-and-so. And if a doc or the charge nurse or lab ask me about Mr Jones, I can glance at my brain and jog my memory - and have handy fast facts right there to discuss with the doc.. I think most docs are understanding of "I just came on an hour ago and am still getting acquainted with my patients" while pulling my brain sheet out of my pocket - then discuss w/ the doc. At the bedside, I'll sneak a peek at the armband to refresh my memory.

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I actually have the reverse problem: I ALWAYS know my patients' names, but I'm darned if I can remember the ROOM numbers! A tech will come down the hall, saying "do you have 28B?" and I for the life of me have no idea....I say "give me a NAME"! Granted, if I've been on shift for several hours at that point, I know what rooms they're in, but when I've been there a couple of hours, no, I sometimes don't remember which rooms are which. So a tech saying "don't you have 32A?" doesn't help me.

"Who has Mr. Smith", that I can handle :)

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Uh......no................maybe I'm harsh but while it's common to refer to our pts by the room number or diagnosis amongst ourselves, it is not a good thing to forget the pts' names....................

Of course it's not a good thing to forget the patients' names and if it happens often it could be a problem. But does it ever happen? Heck, yeah... people aren't perfect.

If you can seriously remember every patients' name every day when the average patient turnover is 3-5 days, you frequently have 3 or more discharges and admits per shift and often have a whole new set of patients each shift, oh, and never have your mind blank out for a minute on something that you know you know, then pat yourself on the back cuz you've got one awesome memory!

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I have trouble remembering my own kids' names. Half the time I call them by the other one's name. Sometimes I ask one kid what the other kid's name is!! There are some days I forget my own name!!! And just to be safe, I always call my husband "Honey."

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I have trouble remembering my own kids' names. Half the time I call them by the other one's name. Sometimes I ask one kid what the other kid's name is!! There are some days I forget my own name!!! And just to be safe, I always call my husband "Honey."

My eldest will never let me forget the day I called to him by his brother's name, then my husband's, then the CAT'S!! At that point we were both laughing and I said "whoever the heck you are, you KNOW I'm talking to YOU, so do it!" LOL...

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Orthopedics.

To think that you have a lot of patients. You can't always remember each and everyone of them. So most of us just make up some codes like room number and patient's cases to help us remember patients. I always forget patients names every now and then...

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Specializes in Float.

I hope I do better when I start my nursing job. In clinical I can never remember their names because we are forbidden to write it on any of our clinical paperwork (instant writeup if you turn in anything with a pt last name) and seems most of the time the chart is up at the desk. Of course when we give them meds we take the MAR or pyxis ticket so then I compare names to make sure I am doing the 5 rights. Looking forward to having report sheets with NAMES on them.

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