Craziest PDN/PDN Venting Thread

Specialties Private Duty

Published

I looked in here, and other places, and didn't see a sole thread dedicated to the madness that is PDN. As PDN's we go through... Well, a variety of experiences. Let's just say we could write one heck of a book.

So this thread is for:

1. Your wildest, craziest, saddest, happiest, most psycho private duty nursing/homecare stories (Pedi or Adults)

2. Venting about frustrating parents, cases, patients, etc

3. Advice on "should I stay in this case VS that one, etc."

I hope lots of people participate, I feel this is going to be helpful.... We can feel isolated out there in the field. I personally love sharing stories with other nurses. I'll go first, but I'll wait til I get home and can really type out some doozies. :)

Happy story telling :)

Specializes in LTC, Memory loss, PDN.

"coocoocajchoo with 2 scoops of crazy"

that's a keeper

on another note,

higher education does not equal no scoops

in fact, it may equal to sprinkles on top

i accompanied my DON to the area children's hospital

to meet the pt. and parents of a new admit

got bad vibes from the beginning, excused myself, went to talk to

the nurses on duty and was told parents thought all medical staff was

incompetent

charge nurse believed parents were not ready at all for discharge,

but dad was not receptive to teaching - quote,"I don't need this (teaching),

I'm the head of the engineering department, I can figure it out."

i passed on the case, much to the dismay of my DON, but that was

certainly the lesser of two evils

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Specializes in Pediatric.
Probably the same phenomenon that happens with parents on group support sites complaining about how bad nurses are. It's really 1:10 (most likely even less) but they're the only ones they ever talk about.

Lol I don't know, I've worked with like 20 families and mmmmaybe 3 were sane. Lol.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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If I fall on an unshoveled sidewalk I am just going to lay there and call an ambulance to come pick my butt up off the ground. Then I am going to hire a lawyer from my ED bed and sue. . . Just to be an itch.

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Specializes in Peds(PICU, NICU float), PDN, ICU.
If I fall on an unshoveled sidewalk I am just going to lay there and call an ambulance to come pick my butt up off the ground. Then I am going to hire a lawyer from my ED bed and sue. . . Just to be an itch.

Let that get out on these boards for the parents! Maybe that would teach them! I bet after that, every one of their driveways and sidewalks would be shoveled!! Make sure it makes the local news too. Headline: Nurse injured while risking her life in the snow and ice to care for a child while the parents that can care for their child are snowed in, demanding for the nurse to do the parents job.

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Ok. I will call the news station from my ED bed too. I will give a bedside interview.

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Specializes in Pediatric.
I always wrap mine in a baggie and take them home for disposal, I don't want dogs getting into the garbage can... Can you say "mortified"??? I take all my garbage home. They don't need to know how many packages of Smarties I've eaten.

That's extremely courteous of you but I definitely don't do that. I microwave frozen dinners and such, I can only imagine if the patient's parent saw me putting trash into my bag (especially out here in the Bay Area) they would be like what in the world?!?! If someone doesn't want me using their trash can ummmm that's their problem. Lol.

In 3 words I can sum up what I've learned about life: it goes on.

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I had one mom tell me that she does not want "pads, tampons or the wrappers in my trash cans because my husband doesn't need to know what's going on between your legs".

Nice. I never accepted another shift on that case.

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Specializes in Pediatric.

That has to be hands down one of the most crazy things I've ever heard of a parent saying! Was it provocated by an incident or was it a blanket statement made at orientation?! Either way...WOW.

In 3 words I can sum up what I've learned about life: it goes on.

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That has to be hands down one of the most crazy things I've ever heard of a parent saying! Was it provocated by an incident or was it a blanket statement made at orientation?! Either way...WOW.

In 3 words I can sum up what I've learned about life: it goes on.

She told me within the first 15 minutes of orientation... which she does because only she knows how to "orientate" nurses in her house.

I was told by another nurse that case is is almost impossible to staff. Hmmm...I wonder why.

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Bringing back a dead thread, but I'm glad I found it because it has made me feel better about my insane PCG. I'm relatively new to private duty/home health (3 months now) and have been to four houses so far. All the family members of my patients have been relatively normal, caring and accommodating people (some may not be the tidiest, but at least they're sane), except for one of my patients' grandma.

She's nice, don't get me wrong. I'm sure she has the best intentions because I can totally tell that she loves her grandchild, but she is so high strung, controlling and OCD that she overwhelms herself. Mom is also in the picture, but is finishing up college, so she's not always at home. Mom is so completely normal, calm and grounded, that I wonder how in the world they are related.

I knew that this was going to be a challenge starting out because the first thing I was told to do when I did a meet & greet was take off my shoes, go wash my hands and 'use these sanitizers to wipe down your phone and keys.' Okay, a little picky, but reasonable. Then I begin to notice things more & more every day.

+The patient has seizures, but she really only has them when grandma is interacting with her (most of these times, the patient is turned away from me, but grandma insists that 'she just had a small seizure'). So I'm beginning to wonder if grandma doesn't know the difference between a seizure and the patient just kinda spacing out.

+Family tells me that patient's seizures are triggered by noises or sudden stimuli (this sounds legit, but once again, usually only has them when grandma is around), so grandma makes you whisper the entire time you're around patient (even if patient is asleep a few rooms away) and they make the poor child (who is a teenager) wear ear plugs anytime she leaves the home (like for school). Oh and we're not supposed to talk in the car. :yawn:

+I'm not allowed (per grandma) to wear any sort of scents. One day I made the mistake of using an aloe vera scented hand sanitizer at patient's school and as soon as we got into the car to go home, grandma says, "are you wearing perfume?!" I explained that it was sanitizer, and she says, "well I have COPD."

+She does not want patient to touch anything at school and sends bags and bags and bags of stuff (carried by me, the pack mule) to school with patient and home again every day so that patient doesn't have to touch anything that hasn't been bleached first.

+Patient drools really bad so grandma has some nice bibs that she puts on patient, that I am supposed to change throughout the day as they become wet. I am not, however, supposed to let them get dirty. Somehow. Even after patient has pocketed all kinds of lunch leftovers, just waiting for me to put the bib back on...:sniff:

+Not sure that grandma really understands my role in patient's care. She wants me to be a CNA, a physical therapist, a speech therapist, occupational therapist, a special needs teacher, but not a nurse. For example, patient is on every herbal supplement and vitamin under the sun (but only like 2 real medications because they're poison) and gets them through her feeding tube but I'm never allowed to actually get the medications out & prepare them, I just get to add the water (case manager emphasized to document each time i'm only allowed to mix the random powders into water and not see what in gods name i'm actually giving this kid). Every time I change patient in front of grandma, she takes over and says, "here's how you do this." Like, woman, I've been in healthcare for 10 years- I GOT THIS. Another example is that just today grandma asked patients mom if she showed me how to do range of motion exercises for patient. :banghead: But oh dear lord, she ensures that I'm working on patient's vocabulary flash cards with patient. Like I'm a home health nurse, not a home health teacher. Just sayin'...

But hey, at least I'm allowed to use their toilet paper! :roflmao:

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Specializes in Peds(PICU, NICU float), PDN, ICU.
Bringing back a dead thread, but I'm glad I found it because it has made me feel better about my insane PCG. I'm relatively new to private duty/home health (3 months now) and have been to four houses so far. All the family members of my patients have been relatively normal, caring and accommodating people (some may not be the tidiest, but at least they're sane), except for one of my patients' grandma.

She's nice, don't get me wrong. I'm sure she has the best intentions because I can totally tell that she loves her grandchild, but she is so high strung, controlling and OCD that she overwhelms herself. Mom is also in the picture, but is finishing up college, so she's not always at home. Mom is so completely normal, calm and grounded, that I wonder how in the world they are related.

I knew that this was going to be a challenge starting out because the first thing I was told to do when I did a meet & greet was take off my shoes, go wash my hands and 'use these sanitizers to wipe down your phone and keys.' Okay, a little picky, but reasonable. Then I begin to notice things more & more every day.

+The patient has seizures, but she really only has them when grandma is interacting with her (most of these times, the patient is turned away from me, but grandma insists that 'she just had a small seizure'). So I'm beginning to wonder if grandma doesn't know the difference between a seizure and the patient just kinda spacing out.

+Family tells me that patient's seizures are triggered by noises or sudden stimuli (this sounds legit, but once again, usually only has them when grandma is around), so grandma makes you whisper the entire time you're around patient (even if patient is asleep a few rooms away) and they make the poor child (who is a teenager) wear ear plugs anytime she leaves the home (like for school). Oh and we're not supposed to talk in the car. :yawn:

+I'm not allowed (per grandma) to wear any sort of scents. One day I made the mistake of using an aloe vera scented hand sanitizer at patient's school and as soon as we got into the car to go home, grandma says, "are you wearing perfume?!" I explained that it was sanitizer, and she says, "well I have COPD."

+She does not want patient to touch anything at school and sends bags and bags and bags of stuff (carried by me, the pack mule) to school with patient and home again every day so that patient doesn't have to touch anything that hasn't been bleached first.

+Patient drools really bad so grandma has some nice bibs that she puts on patient, that I am supposed to change throughout the day as they become wet. I am not, however, supposed to let them get dirty. Somehow. Even after patient has pocketed all kinds of lunch leftovers, just waiting for me to put the bib back on...:sniff:

+Not sure that grandma really understands my role in patient's care. She wants me to be a CNA, a physical therapist, a speech therapist, occupational therapist, a special needs teacher, but not a nurse. For example, patient is on every herbal supplement and vitamin under the sun (but only like 2 real medications because they're poison) and gets them through her feeding tube but I'm never allowed to actually get the medications out & prepare them, I just get to add the water (case manager emphasized to document each time i'm only allowed to mix the random powders into water and not see what in gods name i'm actually giving this kid). Every time I change patient in front of grandma, she takes over and says, "here's how you do this." Like, woman, I've been in healthcare for 10 years- I GOT THIS. Another example is that just today grandma asked patients mom if she showed me how to do range of motion exercises for patient. :banghead: But oh dear lord, she ensures that I'm working on patient's vocabulary flash cards with patient. Like I'm a home health nurse, not a home health teacher. Just sayin'...

But hey, at least I'm allowed to use their toilet paper! :roflmao:

Probably should have started a new thread.

I know this type. Run. Run fast. And the meds thing...you are responsible for every med given. Documenting that you don't know what you are giving is setting you up when something goes wrong. In nursing school we are taught to never give something we didn't draw up ourselves and we are taught that we are responsible for what we give. If the parent chooses to give a med, that's on them. How do you even document the med on the MAR if you don't know what you are giving? Get out while you still have a license!

1 Votes
Probably should have started a new thread.

I know this type. Run. Run fast. And the meds thing...you are responsible for every med given. Documenting that you don't know what you are giving is setting you up when something goes wrong. In nursing school we are taught to never give something we didn't draw up ourselves and we are taught that we are responsible for what we give. If the parent chooses to give a med, that's on them. How do you even document the med on the MAR if you don't know what you are giving? Get out while you still have a license!

Yeah, I probably should have, but it falls under the category of venting.

Each individual ingredient is listed on the MAR, cause when I say medications, I mean like herbal supplements and teas. I don't get to give the prescription medications or anything. I know that it's still technically "medication," but it's hard when that is literally the only nurse thing i get to do for 9 hours a day (and i still only get to give one or two per day). If I didn't do this for patient I would practically just be a CNA/occupational therapist for them and only sometimes because they're really involved with patient (which is great, but leaves me just sitting there and twiddling my thumbs).

I really would like to know how to go about getting this patient to just have a CNA and not a nurse. Is this something that the clinical supervisor has to decide? Should I reflect this in my documentation? If so, how? It's really a waste of money for the insurance company and a waste of a nurse's skills.

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