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

whipping girl in 07, RN · Jun 13, 2002

Oh, yeah, had another great family last night, and it wasn't even my patient. Patient coded on tele floor last week and transferred into unit. Went for a heart cath today and rolled back in around 8PM. Visiting is at 9PM. Got her settled and it was 8:45. Extremely nice nurse lets family come in. I was sitting at the desk and watched two family members walk in. One minute later the door bell rings. Rather than buzz them in automatically, I looked on the monitor and recognized them as this lady's family. So I picked up the phone. May I help you? "Yeah, let us in." Excuse me? "Yeah, let us in." Who is your patient? "Mrs. So-n-so." Two family members just came in, you'll have to wait till they come out and then you can come in. "What?" (I repeated myself and then they walked off without saying anything.)

When someone answers me with "Let me in," guess who ain't comin' in? I mean, they don't let just anyone into the HILTON!

Peeps Mcarthur · Jun 13, 2002

"Do you know the magic word?"

Or you could ask......"What is the average airspeed of an African Swallow?" (Monty Python referrence:chuckle )

whipping girl in 07, RN · Jun 13, 2002

Gosh, reading the ones about the ER patients reminded me of my favorite example of (attempted) Medicaid abuse. About 6 years ago I was working ER admissions (way before I became a nurse, and yet I still went through with it!) when a lady dragged her kids in to the ER in the middle of a weekday with HEAD LICE. She told the triage nurse that the two older kids had been sent home from school and could not return without being deloused. The two younger had it too, could we treat them at the same time? What?! You must be joking. So I checked in all 4 little brats, ran their cards to make sure they were current, and saw at the bottom of the printout that there was not a primary care provider listed. I asked her if she had a family doc or pedi and she said no. I told her she had to pick one, that Medicaid had changed their rules. So I broke out the book of Medicaid providers and handed it to her, and she picked one. Then I took the chart back to the ER. The doctor personally came out to the waiting room to fetch her and the chilluns, and he kindly informed her that we do not have RID in our ER. "Well, I can't afford it. Will you write me a Rx for it so Medicaid will pay for it?" He told her that he could not, but he could tell her how to delouse her children for cheap with Vaseline, a shower cap, and lots of shampoo to wash it out. Even offered to GIVE her the Vaseline out of our stock. She told him she was going to Washington Regional (our COMPETITION) and turned around and left. I itched for a week!

PLEASE, PLEASE, COME BACK AND LET US DELOUSE YOUR CHILDREN! PLEASE DON'T GO TO THE COMPETITION! I WANT THE $17 MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT! I NEED THE MONEY!

:roll :roll :roll

Brownms46 · Jun 13, 2002

"I itched for a week! "

Itching now just reading this..ewwwwww!

Peeps Mcarthur · Jun 13, 2002

Yup, tough break losing that one. It would've probably only cost a couple of hundred dollars worth of paperwork to get your 17 bucks.:chuckle

petiteflower · Jun 13, 2002

Frequently in our hospital the DOCTORS tell the family members that they can stay in the other bed. Problem is, takes up our beds, and then they expect care too. It drives me nuts--the docs don't even bother to ask if we have room or to explain to them that they are not there as patients also. Always when you go into assess--will you take my blood pressure. I have this funny bump. Can you get me a cup of coffee etc etc. Then, after they feel really at home, they think that they can just walk into the nurse's station (while we are charting) and look over your shoulder and visit. And of course, there is always the tour of the other rooms to see who all is a patient. AAARRGGG!!!!!!!

Brownms46 · Jun 13, 2002

Jeeze...you been working where I been working??? Lord! I had one pt's wife walk out in her robe, and stood there are we were busy as all heck. She stood there until the charge acknowledged her presence...and said...Can I get some coffee or do I have to throw a fit...and raise HELL!!!!!

I also most let my mouth get my butt in trouble on that one!!! GRRR!!

And the family member who tries to get next to you by making conversation about how busy you are...while you're getting your meds from the med cart!!! OOOHHHHH GRRRR!! And keeps trying to get you to stop and say something to her!!!! NOT!!

When I catch people in the beds...I tell them to get off them..as they're causing housekeeping to come back and CLEAN that bed AGAIN!!! God knows what these people have...Lord have mercy..Pleezee...on me...because there are times...I don't say a thing until I have sufficently bite my lip into...because I know I would be in BIGGGG Trouble if I didn't! OOhhhh I finally say something..but it is a FAR cry from what I would have said!:chuckle Lord give me strenght..:

adrienurse, LPN · Jun 13, 2002

Okay, here's a good one. How about people who refuse to get up and go to the bathroom on their own because they are too inpain/tired/weak/dizzy to get up to the bathroom on their own, but they CAN steal an attends off the night cart, apply it to themselves, climb into bed, have a BM, and then ring the call light so that you can come in a change and wash them. GLAD I DON'T WORK THERE ANYMORE!

kahann · Jun 14, 2002

I work the night shift,had a patient in with exac/COPD. Aide goes in to take vitals, family member refuses vitals. I go in to assess pt., family member refuses assessment. Mom needs "to rest" and "shouldn't be disturbed". Documented what happened. Guess who would probably be the first to sue if anything happened? If Mom needs her rest, she can do this at home a lot cheaper!

Dayray, RN · Jun 14, 2002

Someone asked if this happens to male nurses ..Ill admit that it doesent seem to happen to me as offten as my female nurse friends but it does happen enugh that I have a list of things I will and will not do goes soemthign like this.

If you can walk to the nurishment room to get things that dont belong to you .....you can wipe your own butt

If you can talk .....you can breath

If you are able to hit the call bell before you have a bowl movment ..then you need to use a bedpan, camode or (imagine this) the towlet in the Bathroom 5 feet away from your bed. instead of in your bed

If you call me more then 4 times in 1 hour to open and close your windows....Im going to throw you out of it the next time.

If you can walk outside to smoke you can pull your own damn self up in bed.

If you can hold it to (hmm how should I put this) shake it? then you can hold it to pee int he urinal.

If I cant see your puplis its not tiem for your pain med

I know I have others but thats all I can think of right now I do have a story though....

several years back I had a littel old 90 some odd women. She was one of those that would call you to tell you she was about to poop in her bed. I told her that if she knew she was about to poop she could use a bedpan, so she called me after she had pooped form then on (about 5-10 times a night). pretty bad huh? well that wasent the bad part. The thing that really got to me was the way she would let me know to come and change her, she coudlent get used to useing the call light she would shout at the top of her lungs "Boy !!! come clean my bed" or if she did use the call light would say send "the boy in here he has to change me" Ive had other patients make me laugh when they ask for unreasonabel things but that was the one that really got to me =(

Brownms46 · Jun 14, 2002

Originally posted by kahann
I work the night shift,had a patient in with exac/COPD. Aide goes in to take vitals, family member refuses vitals. I go in to assess pt., family member refuses assessment. Mom needs "to rest" and "shouldn't be disturbed". Documented what happened. Guess who would probably be the first to sue if anything happened? If Mom needs her rest, she can do this at home a lot cheaper!

I would have called the MD right then and there! MOM could rest at home...then!

No...I really would have called the Doc, and put the family member out! What nerve!

Furball · Jun 14, 2002

Originally posted by adrienurse
Okay, here's a good one. How about people who refuse to get up and go to the bathroom on their own because they are too inpain/tired/weak/dizzy to get up to the bathroom on their own, but they CAN steal an attends off the night cart, apply it to themselves, climb into bed, have a BM, and then ring the call light so that you can come in a change and wash them. GLAD I DON'T WORK THERE ANYMORE!

Ya know...when I was 10, I almost died from peritonitis (ruptured appendix). I remember CRAWLING on the floor sobbing my eyes out in pain, severely weak as well, trying to get to the BR because noone was answering my call light. Like hell I was going to poop my britches....had SOME pride geesh! Where do these peoples' pride go? :confused: :confused: