welcome to the hilton...please dont forget to tip your waitress

RN-PA, RN · Feb 28, 2002

Last night, we even had a patient "shopping" at our "Hotel Gift Shop"-- she helped herself to lots of supplies in our Medication/Supply room. She'd gotten a number of bottles of body lotion, soap, cotton balls, etc., and when she later asked her nurse for lotion, the RN replied, "I know you have lotion-- we saw you take it." Pt: "Oh no, that was for my roomate." Roomate says she has no lotion. Plastic hospital bag observed nearby bulging with supplies she stole. (She even stole a Fleet's Enema, for pete's sake!) This was all on another team, thank goodness, but the RN was relating the story to our charge nurse who happened to be helping out on our team. Last I heard, the "shopper" was picking a fight with her roomate and they were trying to place the "shopper" in a private room... :rolleyes:

One type of patient that sets some alarms off for me are the ones who come in with their own pillows, special blanket, lots of their own food and drinks from home, radio/CD player, etc. They're often "frequent flyers" and can be very demanding and controlling about their care and needs. We have one young woman who fits this mold and the last time she was admitted asked for a new toothbrush every day; she said the bristles weren't any good. :rolleyes:

labornurse · Mar 1, 2002

We had one on the postpartum floor that was recovered HELLP syndrome. Wasn't happy with the way one of the nurses had helped her to the bathroom. Looked at the nurse coming on shift and said "The last time one of you people helped me to the bathroom, it was the worst experience of my life. I think I'll just pee here in the bed and you can clean it up." Charge nurse looked at her and said, no you will clean it up. Called for complete bed change 4x that night because there were wrinkles in the sheets and she could sleep like that. Next day called for complete bed change because there was a spot of blood on the chux. Left her soiled pads on the floor of the bathroom with comment that we were getting paid good money to clean up. Even with all the disrespect and rudness this pt gave to the staff, we all worked very hard to help her leave the hospital as a healthy postpartum mom with a healthy baby. Not only didn't she leave a tip . she complained about every member of the ob nursing staff to administration. She left saying she would never come to this hospital again. :chuckle Needless to say it took a lot of self control for the staff not to cheer at that one. :devil:

SICU Queen · Mar 1, 2002

Mechanical ventilation and Diprivan...

I LOVE ICU...

thisnurse · Mar 1, 2002

you wouldnt believe this but i have three patients that can walk ...i mean like nothing wrong with ambulation....i mean well enough to go home tomorrow...with BEDSIDE COMMODES!!!

the door patients have theirs RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DARN BATHROOM DOOR.

my first admission...n/v

what does she want when she gets to the floor?

yeah you guessed it...WHEN AM I GOING TO EAT

I NEED TO EAT. I DIDNT EAT YESTERDAY. I HAVE TO EAT

IF I DONT EAT TONIGHT I WILL DIE.

all the more reason to keep her NPO

thisnurse · Mar 1, 2002

hospital gift shop....im still laffing

VAC · Mar 1, 2002

Originally posted by SICU Queen
Mechanical ventilation and Diprivan...

I LOVE ICU...

You said it, SICU Queen!!!. Can we sedate the families, too;)

All you guys are great, you crack me up and tell it like it is!!!:)

thisnurse · Mar 1, 2002

had a pt last night...i swear to god this is true...she wanted to use our comps to get online. i didnt see a problem with that but mgmt did. (no way could she get into any of our files) she was absolutely NOT permitted to use the computers.

this pt has been in the hospital nearly two weeks...for CELLULITIS of the leg. she has a spot right below her knee, maybe 4 inches in diameter. why she is still there ill never know.

she tells me that its not fair she cant use the comps. she asked the supervisior about it and she was told that our comps were not for entertainment purposes and if she was well enough to go online she was well enough to go home.

the pt goes into this rant about how there should be HOSPITALITY in the hospital and the pts should be treated like they are at the hilton.

i thought...oh my god...lol

micro, RN · Mar 1, 2002

give me my blankey and my pillow and hold the glass of water so I can drink from it.........

gotta love 'em.......

time management for patients that are truly in need........

that fine line between caring and too much care.........

excuse me, fluff a little more........

SICU Queen · Mar 1, 2002

My favorites are the men who "need" me to hold their urinal for them. I always tell them that if they're too sick to hold it themselves, then I have a standing order to insert a foley. Works every time.

Of course I DO help the poor little guys who really can't do it, but those are few and far between, and the ones would really be too sick to do it have the foleys anyway... :)

jimminy · Mar 1, 2002

lol! I admire anyone that works the floors. Some of the hardest patients inthe EC to take care of are the admitted holds (no beds). They are the most demanding and "helpless". Then the families decide they know better how to take care of their families, aaaagggghhhh!. It's funny though, the reeealllly sick ones say thank you, and "it you have time," it is a whole lot easier to be a theraputic. Most of the walkie-talkies are the really demanding and they can take care of themselves.

Stargazer · Mar 1, 2002

Threads like this always remind me of the notoriously PIA pt that one of my ICU colleagues was bringing back, in bed, from CT scan one day. He decided his bedding wasn't to his liking and began demanding the nurse adjust it as she was rolling him down the hall.

When she told him that she'd see to it once he was settled back in his room, he started slamming his fists against the siderails and screaming, "Fluff my pillow, you *****es! Fluff my goddamn pillow!"

My friend started laughing so hard she doubled over and had to stop pushing the bed, which obviously didn't make the gentleman in question any happier......ya gotta love some people. Or shoot them. Shooting's good, too.

deespoohbear · Mar 1, 2002

This thread is great! How about the pt who is visiting with company, laughing and talking no problem. The minute her company leaves her call light is on. "I am having that severe pain and nausea again, I need my meds." Oh, yeah the four hours are up since her last dose of Demerol/Phenergan on the minute. I just want to gag!!!

One of my co-workers has been a nurse for over 25 years. She always talks about the "fluff my pillow, bend my straw" type pt. Those are the kind who think we are running the Hilton Hospital.

Or, the pts who come to ER with their suitcase packed. One of our ER docs calls that the "positive suitcase sign."