Pt./Family Comments that Leave You Speechless

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I seem to be hearing more and more comments from patients and families that just leave me speechless. I can think of no good response except helpless laughter, which I can't indulge in, so I bite my tongue and say nothing at all.

Here's two from last night:

Family observing nurse use barcoder to give insulin (or rather, struggle valiantly to use the barcoder, since it malfunctions about every three minutes): "Aren't you glad that you won't have to worry about making so many medicine errors anymore now that you have a great machine to do your thinking for you?"

And from a patient who wanted the max in IVP pain meds and slept very soundly through one of the prn time windows: " You should have woke me up or at least have it all drawn up and been standing by my bed waiting for me to wake up." What in the world can you say to comments like those? :smackingf

I had worked at a dialysis clinic for about 3 years (i.e., I kinda knew what I was doing), when a new pt arrived from a sister clinic (I later learned her domineering husband had pulled her out of there because he was convinced the staff were incompetent).

All went well for a while, until (I guess - I never really figured out the reason) I questioned why he put his COPD pt wife on more than 2 liters O2 per minute. I shouldn't have done that. Next thing I knew, he ran to the manager and demanded that I never be assigned to his wife again (that's somewhat difficult when you're one of only 1 or 2 RNs in the building with 20 pts at all times). The reason he gave her was that he was convinced that I was "trying to kill [his wife] with the machine".

This left me speechless, of course, but more so the fact that the manager went along with him. She told him that she would try to assign me to the other other team except that I would really need to be allowed to assist in case of emergency (well, I could always do the recording since I wasn't supposed to touch her!) :angryfire The manager deserves the jellyfish award. If I had been the manager, I would have shown them - or at least him - the door!

This was one of two pts/family members that illustrate that working with chronic pts can be very, very bad...

DeLana

P.S. The pt died eventually, and her husband proceeded to marry our reuse tech who was 30 years younger (!) It lasted for about 3 months...

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LOL! This has had me laughing so hard I was crying! Just goes to show that some people just have that special kind of stupid! As a wise nurse once told me, "It don't take all kinds, you just got 'em." So very true.

:roll:roll:roll:roll

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I will be starting nursing school this summer after ten years as an elementary school teacher. I thought we heard ridiculous things in the education field but these had me rolling!! I have already decided to keep a journal of these types of things for whenever people need a good laugh. . . Can't wait to become one of you!!:yeah:

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Oh yeah, and I hope I am able to keep it together as well as all of you when I DO hear comments and questions like these. . . . ;)

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Specializes in Psych/Detox.

Gotta love it!! Made my day, made me lol !!

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Specializes in LTC, Urology, Gastroenterology, Hospice.

I work in Hospice and the other night we had a contract pt that was a full code (go figure!) and we had to perform CPR. During all of the commotion we had another pt's family standing at the desk wanting to discuss their father's BP levels for the last 2 days, which were normal for him. They stayed right at the desk and didn't even think to wait in their room while we finished our code. Even after telling them a couple of times that we'd be with them as soon as we were finished. Needless to say, they revocated after we finished.

Some people don't get it and think it's all about them!!!

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Specializes in ICU, Cardiac.

This isn't a funny one, just shocking. It left me speechless, which is very hard to do.

Intubated, sedated patient - with continuous diarrhea (no Cdiff). Her skin was starting to breakdown from the constant contact, so I explained to the SO that I needed to put a tube in to collect the stool so her breakdown could be controlled. He left the room and we put the flexiseal in.

When he came back to the room, he asked me, "So, did she enjoy it," without the least bit of sarcasm in his voice. I thought I had heard him incorrectly and said, "Excuse me?" to which he repeated he question. I was speechless most of the night.....

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What the HELL is WRONG with people!!!^^^^^^^^^^^^

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Specializes in Critical care, neuroscience, telemetry,.

That story about the "haunted room" had me SCREAMING, I was laughing so hard.

I've had one family member ask about a brain transplant for his post-self inflicted shotgun blast to the head relative. Don't know if any of his kin could have met the donor criteria, if you know what I mean........

Had one recently where we had a deceased patient still in a room in the ICU. Family member approaches the desk, coos her appreciation and then asks for "that thing that has the oxygen". I was stymied for a moment ("Huh?"), so she explained, "You know, the thing under her nose".

"You mean the nasal cannula?", I asked, cautiously.

She beamed at me like I was a slow child who had just mastered a concept. "Yes! That would be it!"

I never batted an eye as I held my bandage scissors aloft and sailed into the room, where the deceased still lay, doing the Q-sign thing. I snipped off the cannula and handed it to beaming relative, who thanked me profusely. "I have just the place in my home for this!" Yeghhhhhhhhh..........

I agree: You can't make this stuff up.

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Had one recently where we had a deceased patient still in a room in the ICU. Family member approaches the desk, coos her appreciation and then asks for "that thing that has the oxygen". I was stymied for a moment ("Huh?"), so she explained, "You know, the thing under her nose".

"You mean the nasal cannula?", I asked, cautiously.

She beamed at me like I was a slow child who had just mastered a concept. "Yes! That would be it!"

I never batted an eye as I held my bandage scissors aloft and sailed into the room, where the deceased still lay, doing the Q-sign thing. I snipped off the cannula and handed it to beaming relative, who thanked me profusely. "I have just the place in my home for this!" Yeghhhhhhhhh..........

Huh??? WHAT on EARTH would someone DO with a nasal cannula in their HOME???

Folks, I need to sit for awhile. I'm dizzy from spinning!

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
I had an 85 yr old female pt tell me yesterday that my family dropped me off here at the hospital on Friday because they wanted to go away for the holiday weekend. They told the er she had a sycopal episode with incontinence (she always wears a brief). We did an entire neuro/cardiac work up and she was just being sent home this afternoon, with all tests being negative.:eek:

I'll bet the family would have a syncopal episode if someone tipped off their mother's insurance company about that and they got a big fat bill in the mail...

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Huh??? WHAT on EARTH would someone DO with a nasal cannula in their HOME???

Folks, I need to sit for awhile. I'm dizzy from spinning!

My family lost a member unexpectedly in an ICU just within the last few days, and even with all of my experience dealing with death and surviving families, I confess that I did find myself having some odd denial/anger/bargaining ideas as we watched our loved one passing away in front of us.

During my years of work in nursing, family members have asked me for strange and nonsensical things as reminders of their departed loved ones. I never really understood why they would want that meaningless junk, until now.

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