How do you not get caught up with long winded patients?

[WVStarFish]

I absolutely do not mean to sound cold, but I have just started working in LTC and most of it is a very long med pass.

While doing the med pass, I have found that alot of time is "wasted" (I really don't mean to sound mean) by the residents who want to talk, or complain, or whatever.

I swear I'm not being cold, I love my residents, but I can't ever get to do treatments too if I spend all my time on the med pass.

How do you guys past that without being uncaring? I really want to say to them, "I just don't have time to stand here and listen to you tell me about the day you met Elvis back in the 60's"

Ya know?

[abundantjoy07, RN]

The funny thing is that there are nurses out there with the same problem. We have one at work who is a lovely person but just want to chat all day and while your busy doing stuff. You can't get away from her without having to say i've got to go NOW!

Yes, there are nurses like this. I was dumbstruck the day I ran into one of those ladies. She knew I had things to do and she had things to do as well, yet she thought nothing of spending 20+ minutes talking to me in the hall about anything and everything! I would have thought out of all the people in the world a co-worker and a nurse at that would understand that sometimes you just can't talk!

But, I too have issues with the yak-yak patients. I don't want to be rude or sound insensitive. I'm still learning to be aggressive with them when I need to be, but for the most part, they recieve things last from me. Meds, treatments, etc. Unless it's urgent of course. But generally, they are last on my list.

[RedSox33RN]

I must admit, I'm one that has a hard time breaking in when I'm with a "talker", so on several occasions, I've looked at my "beeper" and said, "Oh, I'm being paged! I'll come back and talk to you later on."

My beeper? It's an insulin pump!