I've been THAT patient/visitor

Nurses General Nursing

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I realize the pet peeves threads date back to 04 for some of them but I wanted to share some stories with y'all. I've been that patient so to speak.

For example: Today I had to take my husband's niece to the ER because her left hand was completely numb for more than 12 hours and since a cop choked her; her shoulder and neck were sore. So anyway........I'm waiting in the room with her chatting it up about starting school and the doctor comes in to talk to her. She's not really talkin much just sayin "Man this hurrtttttts!!" So I shut my mouth when the doctor got in and he asked her what all of her concerns were about the wrist and she told him. I blurted out "Also the cop choked her"

So yeah HI I am THAT visitor. :crying2:

BUT after reading the pet peeve thread I checked myself on my manners, etiquette etc before I said something to a nurse today. Like for example a nurse was busy at the nurse's station and I wanted to find out if I could go see my niece by marriage. SO when I saw they were all busy I sat back down in the waiting room until they were done. Then asked them nicely if I could go see her (using her full name so they won't have to tune into their ESP :p)

I learned a lot from you all for future reference when I am in the hospital. I mean I try my best to be considerate/ polite etc even when I get nurses who seem rude because I give them the benefit of the doubt that they had a bad/long day. My uncle used to be an RN and he was sometimes crabby after work.

I mean some of the stuff I read in those olllld posts made me think "I've done that." or "I haven't done that" One time a nurse asked me to keep a chart of my son's eating, pooping and peeing etc when he was 4 months old and vomiting blood so he had to be admitted. So she told me to keep a chart so thats the only time I did a "notebook" thing.

I can say I've never demanded water from a nurse. I've never needed my pillow fluffed. I can do it myself. I even felt embarrassed when a nurse said it was hospital policy that she push me in a wheel chair when I had good working legs. So I'm not a pushy patient. Also I would have never DREAMED of walking into another patient's room.:banghead::banghead:

But the kinda patient I am is the one who says dumb stuff constantly. I don't try to use medical jargon or anything. I just say really stupid stuff and wish I didn't. I bet nurses HATE me.:clown:

Today my husband's niece and I talked to a nurse at the ER who cheered us on and gave us some tips about nursing school and trying to find a job when we're done.:up: Well we were only talking to her because she was in my dh's niece's room and telling us stuff and we told her my niece cant drink anymore and she said "That's wise!" and she said "Yeah we're starting school soon." and she asked us what for and thats how we got into ALL of that discussion. She was really nice.

I hope it was sincere. :chuckle

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i realize the pet peeves threads date back to 04 for some of them but i wanted to share some stories with y'all. i've been that patient so to speak.

for example: today i had to take my husband's niece to the er because her left hand was completely numb for more than 12 hours and since a cop choked her; her shoulder and neck were sore. so anyway........i'm waiting in the room with her chatting it up about starting school and the doctor comes in to talk to her. she's not really talkin much just sayin "man this hurrtttttts!!" so i shut my mouth when the doctor got in and he asked her what all of her concerns were about the wrist and she told him. i blurted out "also the cop choked her"

so yeah hi i am that visitor. :crying2:

but after reading the pet peeve thread i checked myself on my manners, etiquette etc before i said something to a nurse today. like for example a nurse was busy at the nurse's station and i wanted to find out if i could go see my niece by marriage. so when i saw they were all busy i sat back down in the waiting room until they were done. then asked them nicely if i could go see her (using her full name so they won't have to tune into their esp :p)

not nursing station---registration counter......i'm stupid sorry.:banghead: i cant see how to edit the op.

i learned a lot from you all for future reference when i am in the hospital. i mean i try my best to be considerate/ polite etc even when i get nurses who seem rude because i give them the benefit of the doubt that they had a bad/long day. my uncle used to be an rn and he was sometimes crabby after work.

i mean some of the stuff i read in those olllld posts made me think "i've done that." or "i haven't done that" one time a nurse asked me to keep a chart of my son's eating, pooping and peeing etc when he was 4 months old and vomiting blood so he had to be admitted. so she told me to keep a chart so thats the only time i did a "notebook" thing.

i can say i've never demanded water from a nurse. i've never needed my pillow fluffed. i can do it myself. i even felt embarrassed when a nurse said it was hospital policy that she push me in a wheel chair when i had good working legs. so i'm not a pushy patient. also i would have never dreamed of walking into another patient's room.:banghead::banghead:

but the kinda patient i am is the one who says dumb stuff constantly. i don't try to use medical jargon or anything. i just say really stupid stuff and wish i didn't. i bet nurses hate me.:clown:

today my husband's niece and i talked to a nurse at the er who cheered us on and gave us some tips about nursing school and trying to find a job when we're done.:up: well we were only talking to her because she was in my dh's niece's room and telling us stuff and we told her my niece cant drink anymore and she said "that's wise!" and she said "yeah we're starting school soon." and she asked us what for and thats how we got into all of that discussion. she was really nice.

i hope it was sincere. :chuckle

cannot find the edit button so the edit is in the quote.

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You said one thing? That's why you're THAT visitor? haha You're fine. You've got one heck of an inner judge going on yourself!

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I think I've probably done it more than once in the past. I've also gone to the ER for stupid stuff when I was brand new at momming stuff and thought something was an emergency that turned out to be something that could have waited like when my son was pushed off of a slide and landed on te back of his head.....

After I found out it was nothing I kicked myself in the pants the whole way home.

But besides saying 1 thing today I am sure I've popped up when not needed at other times too.

Also when my hsuband's ex gave birth I went up the next day to see her to realize her son didn't have a binkie and so I asked her nurse (who came in the room to find out her schedule for meds) if the baby could get a soothie and she seemed annoyed with me because the baby wasnt my son. She told me where to get them and that was good enough. Then when I happily went to get it without complaining or anything when I came back with it she seemed nicer than she did when I asked for it. I didn't think I was rude for asking. I wasn't raised to be a total jerk but the baby was sucking everything in sight when he wasn't even hungry lol. She was actually friendlier to me after that.

I have a great relationship with my husband's ex girlfriend lol.

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Maybe just because it is 0400 but I failed to see the point of your post...

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Specializes in Oncology.

Why did a cop choke your niece?

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Akron police are known for being abusive.

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Maybe just because it is 0400 but I failed to see the point of your post...

Then don't reply. I failed to see the point in your reply..........

Also if you look BACK at the pet peeves thread you'd know what I was referring to.

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Also if you look BACK at the pet peeves thread you'd know what I was referring to.

Then maybe that would have been a better place to post???

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

Rather than derail another thread, it was appropriate to start a new thread.

I've been that patient too....and had relatives who were. And worse. Honestly, there have been lots of times when people complained and were general pains the neck, but pain-in-the-neck patients can die, too.

Before I was a nurse, I had no idea which s/s were important and which were not, so I'm sure I generated a lot of rolled eyeballs and martyred sighs in my times as a patient.

From my own relatives' experiences, there was the finger cut off in the door. Obviously, the ER is the place. But for a few minutes of slurred speech or numbness and tingling to an arm? Or a 4 year old who can't close his right eye and whose face looks droopy? How about a 7 year old whose cough sounds so weird? Or the guy who can't sleep because his chest is uncomfortable -- not real pain, just discomfort.

There would be a lot less resentment against getting a glass of water for a patient if nurses weren't so overwhelmed and overworked. I know this because when I started in healthcare as a teenager, we were encouraged to get to know our patients and establish a trusting relationship. Nowadays, the Burger King mentality of many hospitals is to get 'em in, get 'em out -- and oh by the way, have it your way.

Some parts of these changes have been good ones, true. But the end result for floor nurses is comparable to the mother who has a set of twins to care for as opposed to the woman who has sextuplets -- and no help.

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Specializes in Peds Hem, Onc, Med/Surg.

From what you are saying you really aren't that type of visitor. I would love it if my patients ask questions and talked about what was going on. Then I could at least feel like I was making a difference and not just talking to a human wall that the moment they leave the hospital they will go right back to what they were doing in the first place.

To me the worst visitor are the pushy, Iamalwaysright visitors.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

Oh so irritating are the family members who stand in the doorway waiting to flag down anyone in scrubs to refill the patient's water pitcher, or who approach the nursing station in the middle of shift change report to ask a silly question.

One of my all time favorites is "When is the doctor coming?"

I never would have thought of those things as irritating until I was a floor nurse, and that's where I just give people the benefit of the doubt that they don't know any better.

It's tougher to do that with the people that are hostile about it. I've found that killing them with kindness usually works, but in the back of my mind, I'm still thinking what a pain in the behind they are.

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