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

[JZ_RN]

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!

[monkeybug]

"I think I might be pregnant, and I think I might be in labor right now." Did you not feel something moving around inside your body for the last 4 months? "Yes, but I thought it was my kidneys shifting." 99% of the "I didn't know I was pregnant" claim is absolute crap. They DID know they were pregnant, they just choose not to deal with it. Drug addicts who come in positive for benzos and opiates and THC and everything else, and then ask "Is that going to hurt the baby?" when you are hanging mag/pit/ampicillin. I've actually said to one, "Not nearly as much as the crack you've been smoking." That leads into the bigger pet peeve, which is when a pregnant woman asks if something I'm giving her will hurt the baby. I really want to say, "Oh yes, your doctor just adores getting sued, so he's always ordering things that hurt babies, just for s&*ts and giggles." Lady, you are in a labor and delivery unit, most of what we do is geared towards getting a live baby without brain damage out of your body, NO I'm NOT giving you something that would hurt the baby.

People that come in positive that they are in labor that get absolutely irate when we tell them they aren't dilated and try to discharge them. "Why won't you let me have my baby?!?!" I am letting you, you just aren't doing it.

Women who want to be induced at some unholy early point, like 32 weeks, because they are so tired and miserable and just can't take it anymore, whine whine moan moan. When you point out the problems that a 28/32/35 weeker might have, you always hear about their sister's cousin-in-law's bff who had a 21 weeker that did just fine and is now a Rhodes Scholar and got to go home 2 weeks after delivery, and we're just being soooooo meeeeeannnnn because we won't "let" them have their baby.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

As an ED nurse ......I hate eye injuries. Not just a black eye but globe ruptures, penetrating injuries...eyes creep me out. AND bugs...I hate bugs.......any one who has creepy crawlers creep me out.

The rest? ... A piece of cake....

[roseonye]

i hate c.diff. that smell just lingers.

[DroogieRN]

>Overdoses, attempted suicides -- not for me. I have compassion but not patience for that. Other psych issues, not so bad. >"I don't take that at home." "I take that at night." "I take a different dose." "I take x, y and z. Why am I not getting x, y and z?" -- Gee! Maybe what you were doing at home wasn't working out so well, seeing as how you're in the hospital now and all. >Don't mind trachs but not a fan of any other situation ending in -ostomy. >Families. Especially when 13 people call about one patient and want the same info over and over. "Can you designate a spokesperson?" "Well, except for Tillie and Raymond and Geraldine and Homer, because no one is speaking to them.">Super morbidly obese patients. Please don't flame me. I am kind and provide the best care I can. But it is so hard to keep them clean and dry and positioned properly when they weigh 600+ pounds. Pretty infuriating when I hurt my back providing care and they want to yell at me because they have to have skim milk instead of whole for breakfast. I am human. It ticks me off.>Collecting stool samples for tests. I'd just about rather rip off my baby toenail with little pliers.>I's and O's. Hate gathering them. Hate. Oh, and insulin gtts -- right up there.

[Bezoar]

Re: multiple postings regarding whiney middle aged female patients...

Awright, enough with the misogynistic overtones here...that's a large part of the reason women often get inadequate diagnosis/treatment of MI symptoms. Also, according to one study, women are more likely to be given sedatives for pain, while men are more likely to be given pain medication for pain (www.partnersagainstpain.com), and according to an ABC news article, "...pain is not always an equal opportunity burden: women are more apt than men to suffer from chronic pain and experience more severe and longer lasting pain.Moreover, research shows that men and women also respond differently to pain medications and an increasing number of studies suggest that the fundamental biology of pain and pain relief differs between the sexes." Pain Relievers Work Differently in Men and Women - ABC News

Add to that, the fact that women's anatomy provides a unique pathway for various and sundry viral, fungal, parasitic, though most often bacterial infections, access to her internal pelvis, where they can fester for years before becoming symptomatic, causing scarring, adhesions, etc.

OK, off my soapbox...my least favorite patient was the man who murdered his wife and two daughters on a friday evening, then turned the gun on himself, succeeding only in blasting out his right eye. He was brought in to my floor in the hospital, where we had to care for him without benefit of any sort of guard, as the state did not want to charge him, or they would have had to assume the burden for his medical care. They were waiting for federal charges to be brought on monday morning. We did not know what to expect from him (having just murdered three "loved ones"), and we did not know if his wife's family might try to come in to "even the score."

[giveface]

Re: multiple postings regarding whiney middle aged female patients...

Awright, enough with the misogynistic overtones here...that's a large part of the reason women often get inadequate diagnosis/treatment of MI symptoms. Also, according to one study, women are more likely to be given sedatives for pain, while men are more likely to be given pain medication for pain (www.partnersagainstpain.com), and according to an ABC news article, "...pain is not always an equal opportunity burden: women are more apt than men to suffer from chronic pain and experience more severe and longer lasting pain.Moreover, research shows that men and women also respond differently to pain medications and an increasing number of studies suggest that the fundamental biology of pain and pain relief differs between the sexes." Pain Relievers Work Differently in Men and Women - ABC News

Add to that, the fact that women's anatomy provides a unique pathway for various and sundry viral, fungal, parasitic, though most often bacterial infections, access to her internal pelvis, where they can fester for years before becoming symptomatic, causing scarring, adhesions, etc.

OK, off my soapbox...my least favorite patient was the man who murdered his wife and two daughters on a friday evening, then turned the gun on himself, succeeding only in blasting out his right eye. He was brought in to my floor in the hospital, where we had to care for him without benefit of any sort of guard, as the state did not want to charge him, or they would have had to assume the burden for his medical care. They were waiting for federal charges to be brought on monday morning. We did not know what to expect from him (having just murdered three "loved ones"), and we did not know if his wife's family might try to come in to "even the score."

Honey, if the shoe fits, wear it. Lol. And, it is a statistical fact that I think 75% of borderline PD diagnoses are in fact female, possibly higher.

[giveface]

>Overdoses, attempted suicides -- not for me. I have compassion but not patience for that. Other psych issues, not so bad. >"I don't take that at home." "I take that at night." "I take a different dose." "I take x, y and z. Why am I not getting x, y and z?" -- Gee! Maybe what you were doing at home wasn't working out so well, seeing as how you're in the hospital now and all. >Don't mind trachs but not a fan of any other situation ending in -ostomy. >Families. Especially when 13 people call about one patient and want the same info over and over. "Can you designate a spokesperson?" "Well, except for Tillie and Raymond and Geraldine and Homer, because no one is speaking to them.">Super morbidly obese patients. Please don't flame me. I am kind and provide the best care I can. But it is so hard to keep them clean and dry and positioned properly when they weigh 600+ pounds. Pretty infuriating when I hurt my back providing care and they want to yell at me because they have to have skim milk instead of whole for breakfast. I am human. It ticks me off.>Collecting stool samples for tests. I'd just about rather rip off my baby toenail with little pliers.>I's and O's. Hate gathering them. Hate. Oh, and insulin gtts -- right up there.

That is so true. Obese patients get most upset over dietary restrictions as inpatients, not medical or nursing care. Of course, obese patients still deserve excellent care.

I had to deal with insulin gtts once, OMG! so complicated. It was for a alcoholism, DM, and obese female case. She almost died that time from DkA, was on the sliding scale insulin gtts for like 5 or 6 days, just to be discharged home and die at home from the same cause like 9 months later, and she was in her 50s, and we all worked like dogs to save this women, too bad. My father has an expression, "You can't help everthing that lives."

[Bezoar]

Honey, if the shoe fits, wear it. Lol. And, it is a statistical fact that I think 75% of borderline PD diagnoses are in fact female, possibly higher.

According to Stanford, "The increased frequency of borderline disorders among women may also be a consequence of the greater incidence of incestuous experiences during their childhood. This is believed to occur ten times more often in women than in men, with estimates running to up to one-fourth of all women. This chronic or periodic victimization and sometimes brutalization can later result in impaired relationships and mistrust of men and excessive preoccupation with sexuality, sexual promiscuity, inhibitions, deep-seated depression and a seriously damaged self-image. "

Borderline Personality Disorders

So, it may be fair to say that a significant number of female borderline PD diagnoses are actually created by those crabby old men nurses seem to love caring for so much. Trained at the knee, perhaps?

[JZ_RN]

I can't stand non-distractable/orientable or controllable dementia patients. I also HATE fall risk patients who refuse to accept limitations for their own safety. I get SOOOO frustrated.

I don't mind psych patients, but if you're going to be rude to me or try to manipulate me or refuse to follow the established limits, that's what I start hating psych patients.

I can't stand families that act like they know what's best- if that's the case, take them home and care for them yourselves.

Patients who whine about the cost of things like I control it but meanwhile have iphones and Louis Vuitton purses.

I also can't stand the middle-aged woman (or man) with vague pain complaints (stomach pain or headaches usually, also often lower back pain), I've reasoned that the vague pain is just a somatic manifestation of DEPRESSION.

SMELLY PEOPLE- SOAP AND WATER ARE CHEAP!

Out of control kids.

People who won't do anything for themselves

People with no patience but who expect you to have more than enough patience for them to take forever.

People who call and call and call and call and never stop calling

I cant stand drug seekers. If you tell me you have pain and don't act like a whiny brat, you'll get the greatest pain control a nurse can provide. If you whine and moan and don't give me 10 seconds to do my thing, I get frustrated and am less likely to rush to help you (though I will still manage pain, I won't be watching the clock to help you or rushing to your call lights)

Very obese people who claim it's a thyroid problem- no, I just watched you eat a big mac and wash it down with a coke. If you don't take responsibility for your health we can't help you. I know nobody is perfect but come on.

[JZ_RN]

Oh, anyone with bugs is just DISGUSTING.

I can't stand angry men who think they can intimidate me either.

I could do trachs, mucus, vomit, blood... but POOP is so ungodly disgusting to me. It's so sick and nasty!!!!

[JZ_RN]

Oh, also spending 45 minutes scheduling appointments, treatments, tests, etc., and the patient never even goes or whines about it afterwards. Really?

Patients that go on and on about irrelevant issues. I honestly don't care about your sister or your car or whatever. I only want to know about your medical issue right now.

Elderly patients with a jillion skin tears and always getting more. How hard is it to not rip off your dressings and tear open your skin?

Families that are in denial or bring their drama into an already difficult situation.

[Candyn]

I love grumpy old men yet when you get to know them. They are hilarious too.I have borderline personality patient. Did not get to chart anything and ended up staying 2 hours after. Really do not mind but then what irritates me is when I think back what I did for the whole shift that I stayed very busy...nothing beside brushing hair, bathing and scratching.Another type of patient I hate is the ones who cry out loud why this happened to me, yet they are positive for every kind of drugs and alcohol you can think of. Patients need to know we test for drugs and alcohol.