What patients/behaviors/illnesses/injuries do you HATE the most?

Nurses Relations

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I'll start with people who say "I went to nursing school" Okay, but are you a nurse?

I need my meds today. Also I can't pay for them.

Moms who let their kids run wild and scream. I get that stuff hurts, go ahead and cry. No need to run like a wile monkey or screech like you're dying, I assure you that if you were dying you'd have no time to yell like that.

And let's not get started on the drug-seekers!

Specializes in ER, progressive care.

* vague abodominal pain and intractable nausea/vomiting.

* GI bleeds.

* any patients with ridiculously-demanding family members.

* patients who are NEVER happy, no matter what you do!

* patients who complain to me with 10/10 pain who are sitting there laughing and talking on the phone with a friend.

* patients who personally call me on my phone at the exact moment their pain medicine is due. then they get mad when I am late with it because I got caught up with something (like the other night when my patient's HR went into the 200's...I'm sorry but that trumps your pain!)

Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Parents of peds patients who refuse to PARENT the peds patient.

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
I keep seeing posts similar to this. I'm not a nurse yet and I've only worked in assisted living. Anyone mind explaining what this is about? Just curious.

These patients usually have a psych component to their abdominal distress, which seems to require massive doses of Dilaudid and Phenergan along with liberal amounts of Ativan. They whine about their NPO status even as they claim to vomit every hour or two (which 'mysteriously' is never seen by any nurse). They tend to be divas who want everything done for them, despite the fact that they are perfectly capable of retrieving that makeup mirror from the bedside table. They've been poked, prodded, scoped, exploratoried, and otherwise examined in minute detail.....and with rare exception, no cause is ever found for their distress.

Another reason why I don't miss the hospital. On the other hand, one of our FFs was a thirty-something with porphyria who had to come in every few weeks for IV infusions, and she had a lot of pain and anxiety as well. However, she wasn't demanding and she rarely complained, and we all became friends over time. She was even my roommate once when I was in for chest pain, and we were like teenaged girls having a slumber party---we kept our end of the hall awake half the night. :lol2:

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

1) John and Jane Doe in room 5126 who is obviously my only patient so they hit the call button every 5 minutes and run me to death for 12 hours all while being incredibly rude.

2) TRACHS----HATE HATE HATE secretions, I can deal with puke, poop, blood, stage IVs that I can put a whole hand in but trachs and secretions make my skin crawl!

3) GI Bleeds= The smell that never leaves your clothes the rest of your shift

Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, Dialysis, Hospice.

Ditto the drug seeking adult female with vague abdominal or headache pain. Years ago when IM Demerol was the standard order for pain control we would get the same couple of ladies on our floor every couple of weeks or so and their pain was always a 25/10, "moan, groan, ohhhhhh...I think I'm dying!!!!" followed by this, said rapidly in a stable, articulate pain free voice: "Call Dr. So-and-So and tell him that I want 75 of Demerol and 25 of Phernagan right now and put it right here." (points to general area of left iliac crest).

In more recent years, these gals seem to be getting younger, the drug of choice is Dilaudid, and they can actually say with a straight face while scarfing down a chalupa that their boyfriend (who is sleeping in the recliner next to the bed and keeps making vague threats to sue or whatever if we don't get his woman some pain meds RIGHT NOW!) brought them from the open 'til 4 AM drive-thru at the local Taco Bell. When they have abdominal pain that is at least a 15/10.

ARGGGHHHH!!!!!!

Specializes in Psychiatric- Detox and ECT.

c-diff, trachs, colostomies

Borderline personalities. 30 years in the profession and I can say borderlines can and will give you the worst shift of your career.

Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

Any wound or hair or clothes that have maggots in on or near them.

Specializes in PACU, presurgical testing.

"By contrast, the patients I LIKE best are grumpy old men......I love to spend time with them and listen to their stories. It almost always turns out that there's a heart of gold underneath the gruff exterior. :)"

Me too me too me too!!!! Old men are my hands-down favorite, and I can soften the grumpy ones by not being pushy but just being nice and a little funny. Most of them are somewhat gentlemen, and when they are not (such as when they come to me in the PACU loaded up on Dilaudid) and tell me raunchy jokes, they are usually pretty darn funny. They have life experience and aren't usually trying to prove something; mostly, they just want people to treat them with some respect.

My least favorite thing is coughing. I appreciate the comment from the person who said he/she could take pee, poop, puke, blood, anything else but secretions; for me, it's less the secretions themselves than the coughing, the endless, hacking coughing. I had bronchitis for 6 weeks in college and kept myself (and everyone else in my hall) awake coughing all night, and my grandma had pneumonia for the entire month or two she lived with us just prior to that. I freaking can't stand coughing. I'm not even nice to my husband and children when they cough. Needless to say, I am not looking to work on a respiratory floor. Gack!

Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

Eye injuries. They skeeve me out!

Specializes in Oncology, Med/Surg, Hospice, Case Mgmt..
Me too me too me too!!!! Old men are my hands-down favorite, and I can soften the grumpy ones by not being pushy but just being nice and a little funny. Most of them are somewhat gentlemen, and when they are not (such as when they come to me in the PACU loaded up on Dilaudid) and tell me raunchy jokes, they are usually pretty darn funny. They have life experience and aren't usually trying to prove something; mostly, they just want people to treat them with some respect.

Me too. I also got a kick out of the elderly demented men who were preachers when they were younger but now cuss like sailors. Hahahaha! They would crack me up! "Pastor Johnson, what did you just say??" :lol2:

Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Allergy to NSAIDS, FENT, MORPHINE etc etc. Miraculously all that works is Dilaudid

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