Patients with interesting occupations (or not)

[FireStarterRN]

Since we have a thread going on patients who are dependant on the government for healthcare due to their dire straits, I thought I would start one on patients with interesting or colorful occupations.

I find that asking a patient about their jobs is often a great icebreaker. Sometimes I'm very surprised to find a patient whom I initially judge to be a needy 'loser' ends up having an 'important' occupation. Someone who seems relatively 'highbrow' might end up having been an underachiever who has not acheived worldly success in life.

Sometimes I'll really get treated to a facinating conversation with a retired gentleman who has had an illustrious or colorful career. I love finding out about patients, and most people love talking about themselves!

[woody62, RN]

I had two very interesting patients, years apart. One was a former governor, whose brother was the governor of the state I lived and worked in. His brother was a real horse's a** but he was a real sweetheart. And shared some interesting stories about Trickie Dick and his daughters.

The other one was a WC client who told me that he was going to have to leave the state to testify at a drug dealer's trial. I came to see him one day and found his plate, his wife's plate and his young son's plate with half eaten dinner on them. I called the U.S. Marshal Service, told them who I was, who he was, who the insurance company was. Of course they denied knowing anything about him. A short time later, my office got a call to pack up all our files on him, including billing ones. And that they would be picked up. And we were to forget we had ever had him as a client. We did but I got a call two years later from someone looking for him. I called 'you know who' and they took care of the individual who called me. Can't remember his name to save my soul.

Woody:balloons:

[biker nurse]

I love to her about their lives, the depression , the war and howmuch things cost. Who needs a history book?

[MarySunshine]

I once cared for a very whiny, very fat man who ate obscene amounts of junk food and was bed-ridden from his obesity related health problems. He never said "please" or "thank you" and often made nurses cry. His own family couldn't stand him and apologized to us for him all the time.

His profession before he become "disabled"? A cardiologist.

[kcalohagirl]

:eek: !!!!!!!

I once cared for a very whiny, very fat man who ate obscene amounts of junk food and was bed-ridden from his obesity related health problems. He never said "please" or "thank you" and often made nurses cry. His own family couldn't stand him and apologized to us for him all the time.

His profession before he become "disabled"? A cardiologist.

Granted, I am not always the picture of healthy living, but that takes the cake!!!!!

I work in a regional hospital, in the "big city". We get a lot of "challenging" patients transferred in from outlying areas. Some of my favorites are the farmers and ranchers. I grew up on a ranch, so it's fun talking to someone that has some common ground. Plus, the look on their faces when the "city girl" asks them about how haying season (or calving season, or weaning, or whatever. . . .) is going is absolutely priceless.

Plus, a lot of them are kinda tough old coots who will do everything possible to get out of the hospital asap after surgery. As a group, they are probably my most compliant patients!

[EDValerieRN, ASN, RN]

I had the priviledge of taking care of a holocaust survivor. Such an interesting man, I found it hard to take care of my other patients because I enjoyed listening to his stories so much.

[al7139, ASN, RN]

Had a pt recently who in discussion said he had lived in a hole...Having just gotten report on this gentleman, and not yet having read his H&P, I assumed he meant he was homeless and really did live in a hole! Through further questioning, I realized he was relating his hospitalization (in a very small room!) to being in the Japanese Islands in the Navy during WWI! He had some really wild stories to tell about the war.

Amy

[Mabel 29]

When I was doing my clinicals I had a 93 yr old man who was still a practicing lawyer. And I mean still practicing, right from his hospital bed...chest pain and all!!! He talked on the phone with many clients while we were with him. Talk about devoted!!

[nancykday]

In the '80s I worked at a small community hospital near a large prison. We would get a fair amt of their i/m when they needed hospitalization. I took care of a major Mafia kingpin who was in the area to face federal racketering charges. Funny, intresting man, who had had no knowledge of the Mafia, Cosa Nostra or anything related to organized crime. Didn't even know it was a problem in the US.

Another i/m I took care of was a former national president of the UMW, he was facinating, told me about the early union movements inthe 20's and how the union was built up to help the coal miners. He was in prison btw for arranging the assisination of a man who was running against him for in the election. His late opponent was predicted to win the election.

But both men were facinatinating of their take of history and what their lives were like. But as with most i/m they were in their opinion 100% innocent.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

We had a pt. coming in for a ventral hernia repair whose occupation was.....sex toy tester. We didn't ask which ones, we didn't ask how they were tested, or where and when, ya know what i mean?:stone

Kinda wonder what he told friends and family what his occupation was though. :stone

[EmmaG, RN]

We had a pt. coming in for a ventral hernia repair whose occupation was.....sex toy tester. We didn't ask which ones, we didn't ask how they were tested, or where and when, ya know what i mean?:stone

You win!

[Ms Kylee]

Years ago, I was honored to care for a wonderful Native American gentleman who was a medicine man. His knowledge of herbal and natural remedies was astounding. I spent hours at his bedside, listening to his stories.

I would have LOVED to have him as a patient! I"d spend the whole shift in his room. :)

I had one patient that everyone else deemed a PITA, but when I went in to take care of him, I found him a bit colorful, but delightful. He teased me all the time about everything under the sun. During a trip in for vitals and I&O, I asked him what he did before he retired. Turned out he was a long haul trucker-- a job you couldn't pay me a million bucks to do.. but the interesting part was he had driven over 2 million miles in his career and had never had an accident.

[CRNI-ICU20]

To Marie:

I bet Show and Tell Day in kindergarten could have gotten kinda interesting....

"Look, Tommy, Bobby brought his mom's/dad's toys in....some of them are really cool!! They light up and make a buzzing sound.....ZZZZZZZZZ!"

But SERIOUSLY!

One of the things I like to do when I am taking care of patients is ask them if they are a veteran.....

9 time out of 10 they are....

Many will tell me of some "incident" they remember, either in the field, or at base, or even while healing in a vet hospital....

I have talked with Viet Nam vets who were both on the ground, or flying helicopters and riding machine gun...I have talked with vets who hit the beach at Normandy, and watched the Germans pick them off one by one....but they survived....

I have listened to some from the Gulf War, Desert Storm, and shuddered by some of their experiences...

And, occasionally, my own son, who doesn't talk about it much....but his experiences in Bosnia...(one of which was to unearth a 300 person mass grave....all had been bound and shot in the back of the head at close range)....

In every instance, I hold their hand and thank them.....for keeping me and my family from harm.....

While we sleep, someone, a soldier walks the wall for us....

They deserve our thanks....and once in a while, it's good for them to get some of those sad moments off their chest....

crni