You are not my only patient

Nurses Relations

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2 different issues

I work in a busy unit with many pts that should probably be on step down unit and very time consuming patients. I go about tasks by prioritizing them. Sometimes that means someone has to wait a few minutes for their prn pain/nausea meds( that they tell you hours in advance they will need on the dot) or for something else etc. I have had a few pts go on and on about waiting. IF they are throwing a tantrum or being rude I have said in moments of extreme frustration, " you are not my only patient." Only a few times and I don't feel bad about it at all. This was to drama kings and queens that had frequent tantrums with all staff on shifts I was running my butt off. We also tend to get a lot of personality disorder types and frequent flyer drug seekers. has anyone else used that line?

The other night I was in one pt's room for 30minutes. When I came out someone told me another of my pt's needed pain meds. I went and got them and the pt was livid and started going on and on. I understand but no one told me while I was in the other room, I got them asap when I found out and one of my coworkers ( A NURSE ANSWERED THE BELL) should have gotten them or told me . Not waited 30minutes.When I came back she was sitting at the desk online..... I said to the pt, " I am sorry you had to wait but I was in another patient's room and was not told until 2 minutes ago that you needed pain meds." I usually keep my mouth shut but HAVE HAD IT with the lazy staff I work with and taking the blame for things I have NO control over or even knew about. IF I answer a call bell of another nurse's pt, I deal with it or let the other nurse know asap if I am busy. I don't answer the bell and wait 45 mins at the desk until s/he comes out of doing a dressing change and trach care and tell them , " room 456 wants zofran." ugh

And it's not like the Colace was going to give on the spot results. That's another thing I have run into, patients that don't understand you can't just "give them stuff" without an order.

Yes!!! I had a patient who reported me to management because I would not give her Tylenol on demand, when it had been scheduled Q6 and she had already had all her other available pain meds given (PRN and scheduled). Eventually, they did the right thing and changed her med schedule all together to one that worked. But, she still did not understand why she couldn't pop an OTC pill on demand during her care.

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So not true. No one gets along with everyone. And no one can possibly have a good day every day. I have been a nurse for 20 years, and yes I have had angry patients. I really hate it when my patients are not happy and do my very best to take care of them to the very best of my ability. I feel that I fail my patients when they are not comfortable due to me not bringing in their medication. I know that minutes probably won't change a lot, but they don't. This is new to many of them. They are anxious, sick and in pain. They are not always rational. They need compassion, not posts saying how ridiculous it is for them to ask for what has been ordered.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

I have had two families complain about me in the past five years, the second was just the other week. I work in a pedi ICU and the patients mother asked to speak to the charge nurse around 6:00pm and complained that she hadn't seen her nurse since 1:00pm. Well.....that's true, she hadn't seen me, but that's because she had left the hospital at 1230, and just gotten back! I was in her child's room at least hourly while she was gone! I understood that she had been in the hospital for over a month for that point and want getting frustrated with the whole thing, so I don't take it personally, but it was a little exasperating. Anyway, I cared for them for the next two days, and by the end of the third day, she was best friends with me because I got her a bigger room and got her child off isolation precautions. Oh, the important things :)

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

If the doctor is unavailable, I will tell the patient that. I have said to patients "Your doctor is in the room with a new patient, I will talk to him when he walks out" or "Your doctor is in an emergency situation and we have to wait until he is available". It helps that I am in the ER and they can hear the code pages or see people run by their room.

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Sooo...Spider-Man was a Nurse?!? I knew it!!! ('...great knowledge, great responsibility.')

No wonder our patients demand so much from us!

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Specializes in PCCN.

I am getting burned out tho for sure. I've had some very abusive pts in the last couple weeks

Get mad at me because they "didn't feel my dilaudid!". Ooh, this makes me sick to no end!!!

That's why I push it S-L-O-wLy over a few minutes. You are not going to get high on my account:mad:

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Specializes in Med Surg, Specialty.
Is it so wrong for a patient to expect you to do your job? Is it their fault that you have other patients? Think about this when you look to see if your check was deposited. Would you be upset if it were a few days late? Provide that patient with the care he/she deserves every single time. Do not wait for them to be upset. If you are in a code, emergency, etc., then your co workers should pitch in. Otherwise, it is up to you. If you are not up to the challenge, change fields. You are a professional. With great knowledge comes great responsibility.

So not true. No one gets along with everyone. And no one can possibly have a good day every day. I have been a nurse for 20 years, and yes I have had angry patients. I really hate it when my patients are not happy and do my very best to take care of them to the very best of my ability. I feel that I fail my patients when they are not comfortable due to me not bringing in their medication. I know that minutes probably won't change a lot, but they don't. This is new to many of them. They are anxious, sick and in pain. They are not always rational. They need compassion, not posts saying how ridiculous it is for them to ask for what has been ordered.

'caringfornures' your posts don't make a whole lot of sense to me in the context of this thread. Your fellow nurses have a right to have a safe place for venting about issues like short staffing and frustration that patients may unfairly take things out on the nurses. A HUGE part of this board is nurses coming to other nurses for advice and compassion and encouragement. I don't see anyone here who is trying to give less than their best to patients or complaining that patients who use their call light are taking them away from facebook/leisure time, or who are saying they will intentionally delay treatment. Just because someone vents here doesn't mean they don't display compassion to the patients. How about you focus your posts to follow more closely to what your user name says?

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Specializes in Med Surg, Specialty.
at least you don't get berated by saying that - our mgmt says we are not allowed to say that. Goes along with the " i've got time for that " thing. The rudeness of the general population- and we are only encouraging them to be more rude. Anyhow, some of the rude people don't even care if you have other pts- it's me me me first - anyone else can go to hello.

My manager tried to make us all say "Is there anything else you need, I have time" as a script before we left a patient's room, every time. I refused to take part (in the second half of that line)- I will not lie to my patients. And yes, there are many threads on here about patients knowing someone is coding in the room next to them and still being mad that they weren't immediately given an extra blanket/pillow/coke when they asked for it. Its really, very sad. I've had a patient furious because she wanted bacon with her breakfast (it can be made any time though), and I had two patients in pain that I dealt with before working on getting her diet restriction changed so she could have bacon. Now I know bacon is good and all ;) but I'll stick by the way I prioritized.

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Specializes in Emergency/ICU.

Let's be real. We have all wanted to say that. On my last shift, I had a woman in one of my 4 ER rooms who had come in early before the fast track area opened. She was there because of "itching deep inside my ear." Well, naturally, the chest pains, difficulty breathing, and altered mental statuses filled the rooms all around her. And naturally the docs and myself got busy with truer emergencies.

Once everyone was relatively stable, about 1.5 hours later, the MD printed her script for Claritin and I went in the room to let her go. She complained with hostility that this had taken too long and that she didn't have to wait this long last time. Mind you, this woman's door was open and she witnessed the ambulance stretchers filling the rooms around her. I apologized for the wait, but when she refused to let go of her hostility and righteous indignation and continued to bemoan her extreme inconvenience, I did something I've wanted to do for a long time. I told the truth.

I told the truth about how when someone comes into the ER for an itchy ear, that people with chest pain, stroke, and bleeding are given priority. I went on to state that if she wanted to be seen quickly, a doctor's office would have been a more appropriate place for her to be seen. I then showed her the door. I said it all with kindness, of course. Oh, it felt so good to tell the truth!

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Specializes in Trauma/Tele/Surgery/SICU.

Yes it is entirely appropriate to tell a patient or their families that they are not the only patient's you have to care for. In fact I have taken it a step further, explaining to both patient's and their families that my patient ratio requires me to triage needs. I am never rude, just matter of fact.

"Mr. Smith, I understand you would like me to sit and talk with you, unfortunately I have another patient who needs emergent care so I cannot, perhaps you could call a family member to come and sit with you." "Mrs. Jones I understand it is frustrating to wait ten minutes for your medication, unfortunately I had to attend to another patient's urgent needs, but I am here now, so let me give you this medication so you can feel better." "Mrs. Doe, I realize you have several questions about your family members condition and care, I do not have the time to answer them all right now because I have other patient's who need me, please write them down and we can address them when I have more time." That is the end of the discussion. If the patient or family continues to complain I will simply tell them that if they like I can give them the name and number of the unit manager and they can discuss their concerns with them.

To date I have given the managers numbers to about 20 patients or families and have had zero actually follow through with calling them. I realize I have been lucky in this regard and am prepared for the day my luck runs out. If my employer wants to fire me for being blunt with patient's I will simply take my skills elsewhere.

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Is it so wrong for a patient to expect you to do your job? Is it their fault that you have other patients? Think about this when you look to see if your check was deposited. Would you be upset if it were a few days late? Provide that patient with the care he/she deserves every single time. Do not wait for them to be upset. If you are in a code, emergency, etc., then your co workers should pitch in. Otherwise, it is up to you. If you are not up to the challenge, change fields. You are a professional. With great knowledge comes great responsibility.

I'm not getting what your point is.

None of what you said changes the fact that we can't always give pts what they want right when they want it. For a pt to be upset he didn't get his pain pill right when he asked is just another sign our society is becoming increasingly childish and narcissistic. I've been a pt. I've been in pain and asked for

pain meds. I did not throw a hissy fit when I didn't get them right away. Why? Because I'm a grown *** man and know that these things happen. I'm not blind or stupid. I realize I am in a hospital full of very sick people. And, yes, this was all well before I became a nurse.

Now, I realize sometimes a nurse will be late passing meds due to laziness and/or incompetence. This is clearly not what the OP was talking about.

Being a professional nurse doesn't mean you drop everything to give a PRN every time. Being a professional means you prioritize. I agree that "with great knowledge comes great responsibility." We're responsible to use our nursing judgement. If all nursing was was shoveling pills when requested, they could just hire a CNA, right?

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Specializes in Trauma/Tele/Surgery/SICU.
Is it so wrong for a patient to expect you to do your job? Is it their fault that you have other patients? Think about this when you look to see if your check was deposited. Would you be upset if it were a few days late? Provide that patient with the care he/she deserves every single time. Do not wait for them to be upset. If you are in a code, emergency, etc., then your co workers should pitch in. Otherwise, it is up to you. If you are not up to the challenge, change fields. You are a professional. With great knowledge comes great responsibility.

If my check were a few days late because there was an earthquake, flood, etc. I absolutely would not be upset.

Please explain to me how to honor a patient's request for water, blanket, pillow fluff, prn med for their 100/10 pain, while you are in a code? When we are coding a patient, my coworkers are right there with me or they are running for stuff! The ones who aren't are keeping an eye on the monitors of all the other patient's to keep them safe. I am not going to walk away from a person who is dying just to placate someone with an entitlement complex.

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